The Way We Roll
by Donuthole
Summary: Adam just wanted to go through one school year in relative peace and quiet. Too bad Charlie had other ideas. Sequel to Growing Pains
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Do I own the Mighty Ducks? Of course not!_

– _Chapter One –_

_And so the story continues…_

* * *

"Charlie, look out!"

It was too late. Charlie Conway sprawled out on the floor, several overturned boxes next to him. Rubbing his head ruefully, he glared up at the stone pillar that had suddenly introduced itself to his person.

"Charlie…" A pretty brunette, about three inches over five feet, sighed. "When you offered to help me move in, I thought exactly that. You'd be _helping_ me. Not knocking into stationary objects."

He scowled at her and reached for the boxes he'd dropped. "Well, I'm sorry, _Constance_. I just thought that you'd appreciate the presence of some extra arms."

Hiding a grin, Connie leaned down and touched her boyfriend's pouting face. "I do." She murmured before giving him a small kiss.

Charlie's face immediately softened and he grinned. "Let's get these boxes inside. Adam and Guy are probably looking through your stuff."

"No, they wouldn't dare. They're too polite, unlike _some_ people." Connie stated snootily, with a meaningful glance at her boyfriend. And picking up her suitcase, she strode off towards the entrance doors.

Charlie just snorted as he followed her into the Eden Hall upperclassmen residence complex.

* * *

Dean Portman tossed a duffel bag over his shoulder and grinned at his best friend."This place is totally wicked." He breathed, looking around the Upperclassmen Complex.

Fulton Reed whistled in agreement and handed Julie Gaffney her suitcase from his dad's car.

The three friends looked on with wonder at the view in front their eyes. Eden Hall always separated the lowerclassmen from the upperclassmen and so had different residence complexes for the respective grades.

It went without saying that the upperclassmen had gotten the better deal.

Large red brick buildings were accented with white pillars and were located on one of the campus's rose gardens. The gorgeous Georgian style architecture was complemented by the slightly wild and untamed nature of the arboretum.

_It's beautiful,_ Julie thought contently, her shining blue eyes turning to her two friends. "You're right. This place is absolutely breathtaking."

"Yeah, I know! Check it out, we have our own parking lot! And no curfew guards!" Portman cheered.

Fulton grinned excitedly, his enthusiasm showing bright. "Look, Port! There's a satellite dish!"

"I know! But you know what the best part is?" Portman asked, with an ear to ear smile.

"Coed floors?" Fulton asked innocently, his face adopting a clueless expression.

"No! Guess again!" Portman laughed.

The two friends looked at each other before bursting out "The _Suites_! We're living the suite life, baby!"

Julie stared at them, her mouth dropping open at their obvious disregard for aesthetic beauty. "That's what you guys are excited about? This place is _gorgeous!_ It's an architectural masterpiece not to mention a nationally acclaimed arboretum!_"_

"Uh…oh…oh yeah. Look, flowers! Pretty!" Portman floundered, awkwardly pointing at a purple colored cluster of blossoms.

"Here, Jules! For you!" Fulton said gallantly, reaching over and plucking out a couple of the blossoms.

"Fulton…these are weeds."

"Oh…well…they're _pretty_ weeds!" Fulton grinned before skipping off towards the entrance with Portman in tow.

Hearing a chuckle behind her, Julie turned to look at Fulton's father who was unloading the rest of her and Portman's items. "Come on, Julie. I'll help you with all of these. I suspect those two will be too distracted to be much help." He said kindly.

Julie gave a small laugh. "Thanks, Mr. Reed."

* * *

"Hello? It's me…you know, your daughter…I'm alive…whatever…oh I beg your pardon, was that out of line…I'm going to hang up now…don't call me, I won't call you. I'll see you at Christmas." Carmen Rivera hung up, her amber eyes burning irritably.

"Things didn't get better, I take it?"

Spinning around, she focused her eyes on Julie Gaffney. For the first time in a month, Carmen felt herself relax. "Hey, you."

The hockey player grinned and rushing over, hugged her fiercely. "Aarrgh! You look nice and tanned! Puerto Rico with the grandparents was nice, I take it?"

"Great. Except for Howard calling me drunk from London. Him and Maddie had quite a time." Carmen's lip curled. "Is everyone back?"

Julie sat down on her bed and bounced on it experimentally. She looked up at the composed Hispanic girl and cocked her head. "Mostly. Russ and Ken's flights come in tomorrow morning and I don't think Maddie or Dylan are here yet. He was supposed to pick her up right?"

"Yeah. That's strange, he lives barely fifteen minutes away." Carmen murmured, catching the sheets that her roommate threw at her. Unfolding the blue floral sheets, she helped the other girl make her bed. "Well…Connie was just here. I think she left to go pick up some more of her stuff."

"Yeah, I just ran into her outside." The goalie then fixed her with an inquisitive look. "I suppose you wouldn't want to tell me how all of us got the best suites with our choice in roommates? I mean, who would put these boys together?"

"Just know that it was Hell." Carmen shuddered, remembering her time as lowerclassmen president. Maddie had called her a natural born leader and Charlie had translated that to mean that she was excellent at bullying people around.

She couldn't help but feel that Charlie was more on the dot than Maddie on this one.

Ever the realist, she knew she was unapproachable and rather intimidating but she couldn't help it. Before settling down in Philadelphia, she had moved from big city to big city. The constant changes had accustomed her to the way the world worked at an early age, and left her more cynical and businesslike than she wished.

However, it was only in this tiny suburb of Minneapolis that she had finally found comfort in an amazing group of friends. And while she stayed in the small oasis of seclusion, her faith in human nature was restored, even if temporarily.

"You hungry? Dad said to buy you dinner." Julie grinned, holding up a shiny credit card.

Turning around from one of her suitcases, Carmen smiled at her, holding out a white sundress. "Present from Puerto Rico. And who am I to say no to Dr. Gaffney?"

* * *

Adam Banks could've sworn both his ear drums popped.

His eyes wide as saucers, he sat up wildly in bed and looked around. He noticed the door to his and Charlie's room was wide open and tried to remember in his sleep fogged brain if he had closed it last night.

"What the fuck is that, Banks! It's eight in the morning!" Charlie howled in annoyance, covering his ears.

_It sounds like…drums._ Adam thought, clambering out of his bed and heading to the small living room that connected their room to Guy and Dylan's. He felt, more than heard, Charlie's muffled thud as he got tangled up in his sheets, trying to get out of bed.

And as he stopped in his doorway looking out into his living room, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Dylan Howard sat in the midst of a drum set, his shaggy blond hair spilling out over his forehead as usual, and his hands a blur as they pounded over his drums. Just dressed in a pair of pajama pants, a pair of bright silver dog tags glinted off his neck.

Adam met Guy Germaine's amused gaze from across the room and shook his head. Then his attention was focused on a small, slender hand that was raised from the back of his armchair.

Abruptly, the pounding stopped and the soccer player's steely gray eyes opened and fixed upon Adam and Guy's disheveled appearance as they stood in their respective doorways. "Hello! Did you miss me?

"Isn't he absolutely brilliant?" A familiar voice piped up, its owner sitting up in the armchair. Madison Kim looked over at the two boys, her eyes shining with glee. "Aren't you going to give me a hug before you yell at us?" She pouted, holding out her arms.

Typical.

Adam snorted before going towards her. "Come here." He said, picking her up in a tight embrace. "How was London? Your sister is safely married, I hope?"

Turning to plant a quick kiss on Guy's cheek, Maddie let out a squeak and almost toppled over. "Yeah, she's hitched! But it was awesome! Dylan came over after his Brazil thing was done-"

Dylan bounded over. "We almost got arrested-"

"Apparently we were causing a public disturbance-"

"Those British people really need to learn how to speak correctly-"

"Dylan got drunk and called Carmen-"

"Maddie fell into a public pond! And she _wasn't _drunk!"

Guy leaned over and grinned at his roommate. "You got drunk?"

An extremely vehement "No!" coincided with an equally vehement "Yes!" from Maddie.

"It was an accident actually. He ate some really spicy noodles and chugged a whole bottle of this awfully potent cocktail mix thing without realizing."

"It wasn't my fault. Besides, Carmen was dying to hear my voice anyway." The other boy declared sulkily, shaking his hair out of his eyes.

As they continued to tell Guy of their adventures in England, Adam sat back and took a closer look at Maddie.

A ballet dancer since she was four, she retained the natural grace and willowy frame that all dancers seemed to share. She was rather tall for a girl, not to mention an Asian girl, standing a little over five feet seven, and had come to be adored by all the Ducks. An airy, warmhearted girl from New York City, she had definitely made life more exciting for them. Meeting her, Dylan and Carmen for the first time last year, the three had slowly embedded themselves into their lives.

With a wail, Maddie suddenly scrambled to her feet. "Oh shit!"

Guy started. "What's going on?"

"I forgot about Bagel! He's probably still outside! See you guys at breakfast!" She yelled, already halfway out the door.

Shaking his head, Adam stretched out on the sofa, running his hands through his hair. "When'd you guys get in?"

"Late last night. Mom and I picked Maddie up from the airport and by the time we got here, it was around one in the morning. We didn't want to wake you so we bummed out here." Dylan said, gesturing to the couch and the blankets on the floor.

"Well, that was nice of you to give her the couch." Adam complimented him.

The soccer player snorted. "Who said she slept on the couch? I slept on the couch, she took the floor. My bones can't handle hard surfaces."

His roommate rolled his eyes and then asked the question that had been plaguing his mind. "When did you learn to play drums?"

"I've always known how, I took lessons since I was five. I just got really into it this summer after I got back from England. Dr. Kim suggested I take up a hobby where I can channel my full attention in a tactful manner." He said, flipping over in his armchair so the blood rushed to his brain.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Meaning pound out your one sided sexual frustration over Carmen until you feel better?"

Flipping over, Dylan glared at him. "She does to love me. She just doesn't know it yet."

Guy snorted, absently scratching at his chest before he looked around. "Hey, where's Charlie?"

Adam frowned. "He was coming out with me…" Getting up, he walked back to their room. "Oh come _on_! Charlie!"

Ambling over, the other members of the suite gazed at the peacefully slumbering Charlie, who was curled up on the floor amidst a tangle of sheets.

"My cymbals detach from the set." Dylan offered solicitously.

Adam's answering grin was positively evil.

* * *

"Welcome to the start of a new school year!" Dean Buckley beamed at them from the podium.

"God, could this be any more boring?"

Carmen shifted her head slightly to see Guy Germaine slip into the seat next to her. "Hey, Guy. You're looking crankier than usual."

The blond boy sniffed. "Well, you would be too, if your lover boy had woken you up by banging on his drums. Did you know he plays? He's _good_, too!"

She raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "It figures that his talent lays in making as much noise as humanly possible."

"Hey, easy, Car. The kid worships you!"

"And he probably eats mud. It's not saying much."

* * *

"Now that all of you are entering your junior year, you must take consideration-" Dean Buckley droned on.

"Hot girl, two o' clock!" Averman jerked his head towards a gorgeous dark blonde that was sitting a couple rows away.

Fulton leaned back to get a closer look. "I haven't seen her before."

"Me neither. I would've definitely noticed a girl like that." Luis frowned, giving her a cursory glance.

Maddie popped her head over. "What are we ogling?" Her eyes then widened as the girl in question was pointed out. "Holy shit! Hey, Dylan-"

"OW!" The whole auditorium turned to see the blond jump out of his seat, clutching his right leg.

Raising an eyebrow, Dean Buckley surveyed the boy over his glasses. "Is there a problem, Mr. Howard?"

"Um…well, uh…um, there was a bug. A big one. Sorry. By all means, continue with your sermon, sir. I'm hanging on to every word." Wincing slightly at the lame excuse, Dylan sat back down before huffily turning to his best friend. "Did you have to pinch me that hard?"

"Oh shush, you big crybaby." Maddie sniffed before pointing at the dark blonde, who was staring at Dylan with speculative eyes. "Isn't that Draper the Raper?"

The blond's eyes widened. "Oh no."

Smelling a story, Averman leaned over eagerly. "Draper the what?"

"Laura Draper. She used to go to Ridgewood Prep. What the Hell is she doing _here_?" He moaned, slinking down into his chair. "I'm dead."

"I guess she transferred." Maddie shrugged before turning to the redhead with a grin. "Dylan hooked up with her at a party and apparently, she tried to 'rape' him. He's been scared shitless of her ever since. Although, I didn't know she was _that_ hot."

"Yeah, too bad she's _crazy_!" Dylan snarled, trying in vain to hide his face.

Luis pouted. "How come all the girls likes the blondie when he doesn't even like _them_?" He complained.

Fulton shrugged before turning back to the lecturing Dean who was gesturing emphatically.

"Work hard and I guarantee Eden Hall will help you on your way to success. Junior year is extremely difficult. It is a year that will test every measure of strength in your mind and body-"

Goldberg snickered at the statement. "I'll bet ten bucks that Charlie flips out first."

* * *

And the first installment of The Way We Roll is done. Have a great summer, peeps!

R&R, please! Have a nice day!


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks._

– _Chapter Two_ –

* * *

A beautiful, sunny morning in September, two boys walked to their first class of their first day of their junior year. Jovially talking and laughing, the two friends basked in the warm sunshine and listened to the birds chirping cheerfully.

Until a small yet fierce blur of blondeness rushed out of nowhere and began sucking the life force out of one of the poor defenseless boys.

It was kind of like how a small thing called reality TV shows, ruined the good old nature of the sitcom.

At least, that's what Ken Wu thought as he stood watching the couple begin their greeting.

"Well, hello there, Allie." He said cheerfully, as the blonde ignored him and continued kissing her cowboy voraciously. "It's a nice day, isn't it?" She continued to ignore him. "Well, I think I'm gonna go ahead to class. Try not to be too late, Dwayne." Ken advised, before he bumped into an irate Carmen.

"Oof! Sorry, Car" He apologized before raising an eyebrow. "You look faintly aggravated. Dylan?"

Her growl was practically beastly.

"Ah." Ken murmured delicately. "Well, I'm off."

Carmen didn't even spare him a glance as she stalked to her class. Unfortunately, her passage was blocked by a certain Dwayne and Allie who were thrashing about like a couple of eels in heat. Muttering about the Howard family gene pool, she shoved past them irritably. "Christ, will you let him up for some air!"

Dwayne broke off the kiss to look at Carmen's rapidly retreating back before turning to look at his girlfriend. "Maybe you should coach Dylan on how to talk to Carmen."

He was answered with a dainty snort. "You're kidding me, right? Dylan doesn't _need_ help talking to girls. As much as I hate to admit it, he's the epitome of suave. The only reason why he can't get Carmen is because she's too smart for him. And the fact that she's asexual."

"But he really likes her!" Dwayne protested.

"He likes the chase, not her."

"That's a bit cruel."

Allie Howard stopped powdering her nose to fully look at her boyfriend. "So what? He pisses her off." She paused. "Come to think of it, he pisses me off too."

"He's your _cousin!_"

"Don't remind me."

Dwayne frowned at her. "So you won't help him?"

"I'll think about it. I'll see you later, dear." Allie called over her shoulder, blowing him a kiss.

* * *

"How are you _not _worried?"

"Goldie, my man, I've learned to take these things in stride. And besides, what's he gonna do? Spit at us?"

Goldberg stopped eating his third enchilada enough to stare at the lounging Charlie in shock. "Dude! This guy's wanted us out of the school since we _got _here! Orion's coaching the JV team so he doesn't have our back anymore. It's like we have to fend for ourselves."

"Fend for ourselves? What are we talking about?" Averman asked, plopping his lunch tray down at the table.

"Hockey practice. Our first hockey practice as members of the Varsity team." Charlie said smoothly, deftly swiping an apple from a sleeping Maddie's tray.

"Oh right. Our stint with Crazy Dog Wilson." Averman muttered.

Charlie grinned. "Come on, guys. We've been through worse. Seriously though. What can this guy _do_ to us?"

"Bench us, make us work harder than any other player on the team, single us out in front of everyone, and if all else fails, give us general hell."

His grin fading, Charlie turned to look at Adam. "Banksie, buddy. What are you talking about?"

"Yes, what _are_ you talking about?" Carmen asked suddenly, her amber eyes narrowing as she set aside her fruit salad.

The boy pushed his fries around. "Coach Wilson doesn't like us. That much is obvious. He still thinks that we don't belong here. And usually, anything he doesn't like, he gets rid of."

Averman let out a nervous squeak.

"I don't want to worry you guys or anything but…my time with Varsity was hell. He _hated_ me. I was pushed harder than any guy on the team and it just didn't stop. And you've seen his rather…violent…teaching methods." The other boy's eyes had taken on a haunted look.

There was a stunned silence that seemed out of place in the noisy dining hall. Goldberg and Averman looked about ready to faint and Charlie…well, Charlie looked like he'd been told that Connie was a man.

Carmen was the only person that didn't look like she was in shock. Actually, she looked rather determined. "I'm sure everyone's heard of _Coach_ Wilson's teaching methods." She sniffed distastefully before packing her bag up. "Don't worry about Wilson. He's going to get what's coming to him."

Charlie stared after her briskly walking away. "What does she mean by _that_?"

Only catching the tail end of the conversation, Maddie yawned and propped her head up. "Wilson has a lot of dirty habits. And Carmen's found quite a few of them…kind of sucks to be him."

"The girl's a regular Nancy Drew, isn't she?" Averman gave a nervous chuckle as she eyed the empty space where her apple used to be.

Charlie quickly threw the half eaten core out of sight.

"Anyway, Wilson was Carmen's gym teacher freshman year. She's been out for his blood ever since."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "What for? He didn't…_do_ anything to her, did he?"

"Ew, no! Like Carmen would ever let _that_ happen. It's kind of funny actually." Maddie grinned slightly. "He gave her a 75. Almost ruined her GPA before she appealed."

Goldberg's jaw dropped. "She's on his case because of a _grade?_"

"At first, it was because of a grade. Then she started finding out a lot less savory things about him." The dancer's face grew serious. "I didn't even know what she was doing until she asked me to get his staff file for her. I _still_ don't know most of what she's doing. What I do know is that Wilson's in some pretty deep shit and there's no way he can wriggle out of this one."

"Well. Amazing how this conversation turned out." Charlie said brightly, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yeah. Listen, I gotta get to class. See you guys later." Maddie said as she gathered her belongings.

"Wait. I'm coming too." Adam called out after her abruptly as he shoved all his stuff into his bag with one sweep of his arm.

Goldberg took a deep breath as he watched the two of them walk out of the dining hall. "Well…I don't know about you but I am terrified to go to practice this afternoon."

* * *

"Carmen's really serious about this, isn't she?" Adam asked Maddie as they walked out of the dining hall.

She nodded. "I think her and Wilson had a confrontation last year. He just laughed at her as usual. I don't know _how or why._ She's kinda scary."

"He doesn't take her seriously. He thinks we're just kids."

Maddie snorted, tightening the straps around her colorful backpack. "That's such a dumb thing to think. You recruit the most talented kids in the _country_, bring them to one place, give them a great education, and you think they're going to stand still and let you walk all over them? Welcome to the nightmare of an elitist society."

"You're right." Adam breathed, his eyes widening.

"Of course I am. They made us and now we're smarter than them. Well, some of them." The Asian girl amended, giving an enthusiastic wave to Dr. Harrison, a brilliant biology teacher, as he passed. She then turned to look at her friend. "He really did a number on you, didn't he?"

"What?"

"Wilson. He really did a number on you, didn't he?"

"It wasn't exactly the best welcome to high school, if that's what you mean." Adam sighed bitterly. "I'll see you later, Mads."

_Poor kid_, Maddie thought as he walked off. _So much angst in one body. I wonder if he'll go insane._

* * *

"Luis, you're a walking penis."

Luis Mendoza glared at a very pissed off Connie Moreau.

She glared at him right back.

In fact, the two glared at each other until Luis broke the silence.

"Am I a _big_ walking penis?"

"Oh for goodness sake!" Connie yelled, forgetting that she was in her physics class at the moment.

"Miss…um…Miss! Please stay quiet! This _is_ a classroom, after all!" Their physics teacher scolded, unable to remember Connie's last name.

"Sorry, sir." She mumbled, resolutely ignoring Luis's snickers.

"Was it something I said?" The boy asked innocently.

She refused to even look at him.

* * *

Julie Gaffney anxiously looked at her watch as she raced down the hallway towards her suite. Juggling her bag and several textbooks, she muttered a steady stream of curses as she tried to locate her key.

"Looking for this?" Carmen grinned, suddenly coming out of the suite and holding up a key in her hand. "You left it on the dresser, thought you might need it."

"Thanks." Julie said gratefully. "Where're you off to? Classes just ended."

"Prior engagement!" Her roommate called over her shoulder as she too raced down the corridor. "I won't be back until late, tell Connie that her dad called and make sure Maddie takes her vitamins! Oh and hockey practice has been moved later to 4!"

"Got it!" The other girl yelled, slipping into her room. Carmen was an organized whirlwind of activity, handling four to five things at once and somehow managing to never lose her cool. Or appear unkempt.

_Sometimes it's really unfair,_ Julie thought with a sigh as she examined her own appearance in the mirror. Her carefully brushed hair was all over the place, her mascara smudged, and her feet felt bloated. And this was just after the first day of classes.

She broke out of her narcissistic moment when the suite door opened and Connie entered. Flashing Julie a tired smile, the small girl walked over to the couch and promptly collapsed. "What were we thinking, Jules? _Three_ AP classes?" She moaned, pulling her shoes off.

The corners of Julie's mouth twitched upwards. "I believe we were listening to Coach Orion who wanted us to be the _best_ we can be. And then we were given false inspiration by Carmen who I believe is enrolled in four of them. Which ones are you taking anyway?"

"Psych, chem and Spanish. You?" Her best friend ground out, burying her face in a pillow.

"English, environmental, and U.S."

Just then, the door burst open again and Maddie barged in. "Where's Carmen? Carmen! Carmen!"

"She's not here. She had a meeting." Julie spoke up, looking worriedly at the wild eyed state of her friend. "What's going on?"

Stopping to look at them somberly, she wrung her hands. "I'm in three AP classes. Problem is…I only signed up for one."

Connie sat up. "What?"

"Yeah, I know!" Maddie wailed, looking close to tears. "I only signed up for computer science but I'm in physics and Calc BC as well! And I can't get out of it! I can't handle all that work! I actually like my sleep! If I don't get sleep, I'm gonna turn into a zombie and go around eating people and have grey skin and _I'll be ugly_!"

"But that's not fair. It's not your fault!" Julie said, her brow furrowing in protest.

"They said that I should be able to handle it and that they can't do anything about it. This is why I need Car! Why'd she leave me? She's in my face when I _don't_ need her! I don't want to be _ugly_!I like the way I look!" She whimpered, tears threatening to spill out.

Connie immediately rushed to the trembling girl's side. "Shhh, it's ok, sweetie. Just go lie down and close your eyes for a bit, ok? Carmen will take care of this."

Julie watched as their little darling slumped over to her room. "Poor thing."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Connie agreed before she looked at her watch. "We better get a move on, Jules. Practice starts in half an hour."

"Alright. Oh, Carmen said your dad called."

Connie started plaiting her long hair. "I'll call him when I get back. Got all your stuff?"

Julie nodded.

"Okay then." She paused for a second. "Wait, I almost forgot about Maddie."

"She's sleeping." The goalie announced, popping her head into the other room.

The brunette frowned before grabbing her hockey gear. "I don't want to leave her here just like that. Bagel! Bagel, sweetheart, where are you?"

Bagel opened his eyes from his sleeping spot on the hidden armchair next to the fireplace and sat up. Jumping down and trotting over to Connie, he obediently awaited her commands.

Connie leaned down so she was almost eye to eye with the beagle and gave him a soft rub on the head. "Go take care of Maddie, ok? Keep her company."

Understanding her words perfectly, Bagel gave an affirmative bark and scampered over to his master's bed where he immediately made himself at home.

Julie raised an eyebrow. "That dog is freakishly intelligent."

* * *

There was dead silence throughout the rink as the members of the Varsity hockey team stood in a straight line. A wiry, sandy haired man slowly made his way down all of them, inspecting each one and never making a single comment. However when he got to the end of the line, his eyes lit up in recognition.

"Why, Banks. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Coach Wilson breathed, raising an eyebrow.

Looking straight ahead, Adam didn't even bat a lash. "Yes, sir."

"Mmm…and it seems like you brought all your little friends too." He chuckled, skating away from them to look at the assembled team fully. "Listen up and you listen up good. I'm not happy that all I've got to work with is the likes of you. Four of my senior players resigned, saying that they'd rather not play with the _Ducks_. Incidentally, that was all I had _left _of the original team." He hissed, his eyes narrowed in dislike. "Thank goodness some of you know how to actually play _some _hockey. However, while you're on my team, _all_ of you will learn how to play hockey. You got that?"

He glared at them as if daring any of them to contradict him. When he got no response except stony faces, he continued.

"My practices are hard. They are _extremely _hard. I don't have time for slackers and pansies that can't pull their own weight. My practices are designed to toughen all you up. They are designed for real _men_. Not _women_. They will train you to win and let me tell you something, I am _very _used to winning." Wilson stopped at this time to glare pointedly at a fuming Connie and an extremely rigid Julie.

"So are we, _sir_." Connie practically spat out, unable to handle his mocking eyes any longer.

He gave a sinister smirk. "Don't you dare talk back to me, girl."

"Hey! Who the hell you think you are talking to her like that?" Portman started, finally breaking out of his earlier self restraint. "We don't tolerate any disrespect here. You're on our turf."

Wilson looked at the burly defenseman and let out a small sigh of realization. "Ah, it's one of the _Bash Brothers_. Mmm, nothing but brute force on the ice. Like an ape. How _remarkable_. Alright, _Portman_. Laps."

Portman turned red with fury but obliged nonetheless when he felt a pleading poke from Julie.

"You, Captain boy." Wilson barked at Charlie.

"What." Charlie answered flatly, his eyes narrowed in hate and fury.

"Don't you _what_ me. You will address me with respect at all times, you understand?"

"Respect is _earned._"

Wilson stared at him. "Unbelievable. Laps, _Captain_."

"As you wish." Charlie said with the ghost of a smirk on his face.

"I could go on for days about all of your shortcomings. However…time is running short. So in lieu of an object lesson, how about all of you join those two for laps? Now. If I'm feeling generous, then we _might_ finish practice before eight." Wilson barked, his whole aura oozing dislike. "Well what are you waiting for? Get!"

Mechanically, the Ducks fell into line and started on their laps. There were no words spoken.

* * *

The door knob to Suite 301 trembled and twisted before there was an audible click.

"Sweet." Dylan Howard smirked as he pocketed the bobby pin and opened the door. Walking in, he was greeted by the overall deserted state of the suite.

"Maddie? Maggot!" He called, walking over to her and Connie's room. "There you are. Didn't you hear me knocking? Or yelling? Or picking the lock?"

Maddie moved slightly as she turned towards her best friend with bleary eyes.

"Bagel, my boy! Slap me some." The blond grinned, leaning down so a happy Bagel could offer him his paw.

"Go away, Dylan. I'm trying to die." His best friend groaned, immersing herself in her sheets.

Dylan made himself comfortable in Connie's desk chair before turning to look at her. "Oh? How's that going for you?"

"I don't know! I've never done it before."

"Hmm." There was a pause. "How long do you think you'll be at it?"

He was answered with the finger.

"Tell me what's wrong, Mads." It was more of a command than a request.

There was a sulky silence before he gave a great howl of laughter. "You're still moaning about the _AP_ classes? HAHAHAHA!"

"Shut up, _Dipshit_. I can't handle all of it."

Wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes, Dylan leaned forward, his grey eyes sparkling engagingly. "You know…Emily Parker's taking three."

Maddie froze. "She is?"

"Mmhmmm. Now…do you _really_ think you can't handle three stupid classes?"

"I never said I couldn't handle it! I can handle it just fine!" She snapped, sitting up in her bed.

"That's my girl!" Dylan grinned encouragingly. He stood up. "Now why don't you find yourself something pretty to put on and fix that rat's nest you call hair and come out with me for a bit?"

Maddie scowled at his comment about her hair. "Where are we going?"

"Christina's in town and she wants to meet up for dinner. And there's no way I'm being alone with that prick boyfriend of hers."

"When's she going back to Princeton?" The dancer mumbled, walking over to her dresser to pick up her brush.

"Tomorrow. I didn't want to go if _he_ was going, so she told me to bring you and we'll have a nice dinner with her and Wonder Douche."

Maddie grinned at him. She had seen pictures of his sister's new boyfriend and knew Dylan hated him with a passion. She privately thought it was because he didn't want her attention focused on another boy except him.

Christina Grace Howard was a junior at Princeton University and had the dark blonde hair, steel grey eyes and overall good looks of her family. She was the first to break with tradition and attend Princeton instead of the University of St. Andrews as the rest of the Howards had done. Dylan and his father blamed Christina's transition to an Ivy League school on the influence of her mother, who also happened to be a Princeton graduate.

"Alright. It'll be nice to see her again although I don't understand why you hate Brian so much."

"Because he undresses me with his _eyes_." The soccer player solemnly said, his own eyes going comically wide and tilting his head back as if he was giving away a national secret.

Maddie snorted. "Right."

"What? I'm a sexy beast." Dylan sniffed, tossing his hair out of his face. "I need to shower. I'll come back at six."

* * *

Carmen Rivera slowed to a stop as she entered the third floor corridor. Or actually she was halted by a glaringly neon pink poster board sign that completely covered the actual message board.

On it, she read in big block letters:

IF YOU ARE CARMEN RIVERA, PLEASE COME TO SUITE 303. (IT'S THE ONE NEXT TO YOURS.)

IF YOU'RE NOT CARMEN RIVERA, SORRY FOR THIS DISPLAY OF OFFENDING VISUAL TACKINESS.

Carmen raised an eyebrow, and walked down to the suite. The sign was obviously Charlie's handiwork plus Luis's little note of style deference at the end, and she had a feeling she knew exactly why he wanted to see her.

"Well?" she asked, coming to a halt at the open doorway and looking around at the comatose occupants of the room.

All in varying positions of languor, the members of the hockey team were stretched out wherever there was room to be stretched out. In fact, judging by the looks of it, they had even moved into Charlie and Adam's bedroom for she could see Adam, practically unconscious, on his bed, Fulton occupying Charlie's and Dwayne stretched out on the floor.

"Practice wasn't fun, I take it?" It was a rhetorical question.

Charlie didn't even open his eyes from his place on the armchair. "Whatever you're gonna do to him, do it fast."

"He nearly killed us today." Russ ground out, as if talking was a serious effort. And if talking for _Russ_ was a serious effort, practice certainly must have been hell.

Carmen nodded. Just once but it was enough. "I'll see what I can do."

And with that she left the boys to their pain.

* * *

Carmen is my hero.

R&R, please! Have a nice day!

**Banksiesbabe99**: Thanks! Apart from my dog, I think you're like the only one who thinks I'm ace. Lol.

**Firexelement**: Thanks so much. It's lady, lol. I'll be sure to take you up on that offer sometime.

**antiIrony**: Thanks a lot! It's been a blast writing this and I'm kinda glad I have so much more freedom now that the kids are older.

**Sam**: Thanks for your input. I'm glad you enjoyed my stories and I'll be sure to make note of your suggestions!

**Babybee13:** Thanks a lot! It's great hearing your thoughts. Reviews make me giggle.

**RIP MuM**: Lol, crazy weather you got there. Thanks for reading!

**Sphinx005**: You're amazing. Lol. Thanks so much!

**Joshysgirl**: Carmen still hates Dylan, lol. Maddie and Adam aren't hooking up either. Buuuut Fulton is gonna get him some! Shhhh! It's supposed to be a secret!

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks_

– _Chapter Three_ –

* * *

As Eden Hall entered the final week of September, students in the junior dormitories started to notice something rather odd about the third floor. The usually rambunctious and noisy members barely went outside their rooms and all wore the same look.

A haggard, drawn, pinched look of exhaustion.

Coach Wilson had not lied when he said his practices were difficult.

Adam Banks had not lied when he said that Coach Wilson hated the Ducks.

Connie Moreau had not lied when she called him a chauvinistic son-of-a-bitch right to his face.

It had taken a universal threat of resignation to persuade Coach Wilson not to kick Connie off the team. Even he knew that he had to have some sort of team to represent the school. But as he was a vindictive bastard, he made the team work harder than was probably allowed by the child abuse laws of the state of Minnesota.

And of course, there was the homework.

On top of the rigorous four hour practices that left the Ducks wishing for death, there were the academic pressures that Eden Hall brought. Every single one of the Ducks was taking at least one AP course although that didn't mean much, for the whole curriculum at Eden Hall was accelerated. They were lucky to get six hours of sleep a night.

Carmen, on the other hand, was barely sleeping at all. Julie confirmed this after finding three new crates of Red Bull in their room. After classes ended, Carmen went immediately to her desk and started doing God knows what. After seeing the exhausted melancholy that had permeated into their lives, the blond beauty resolutely worked with new drive, trying to keep on top of her schoolwork and find information on Wilson simultaneously.

Dylan, too, was not dealing very well. It was hard to be happy when one's roommates were all broody. In his own complicated little mind, he rationalized that it was rather bad form to interrupt his friend's suicide attempt just because he was feeling bored.

And as for Maddie? Well, Bagel was getting a _lot_ of care and attention these days.

As a girl who thrived on sunshine, rainbows, puppies, and other useless nonsense, Maddie certainly felt the bleak atmosphere that surrounded her. The Ducks practically _saw_ her wilting. As a result, she had taken to carrying Bagel everywhere, even sneaking him into class occasionally. At least _he_ liked to see her.

All in all, things were not good.

* * *

"What exactly are you waiting for?"

"Maddie."

"Maddie's at a meeting with the scholarship board."

"I know."

"So can't you come _later?_"

"And miss your company? Don't be absurd."

"You're infuriating."

"And you're hot. We should make babies."

"You must be in need of a death wish."

"Hey, you know what they say. Enemies have the hottest sex."

…

"Carmen?"

…

"Carmen, are you ignoring me?"

…

"You're absolutely no fun."

…_Seven minutes later_...

"Has anyone told you you're starting to look a bit peaky?"

"Howard?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Shut up or get out. Actually, on second thought? Just get out."

…_Sixteen minutes later_…

"Stop looking at me."

"But you're _sooo_ pretty."

"Bite me, Howard."

"Gladly." Dylan leered, leaning back in his seat.

Carmen's eye started twitching as it always did when she was truly, deeply annoyed and she resolutely started going through her mound of paperwork. She had been working on getting Wilson fired for weeks now and thank God she was finally getting some results.

Too bad Howard was around to quell her triumph.

Just then, she felt the door to her suite open and she smelt the familiar scent of vanilla fill the air. Looking up from her desk in the corner of the common room, she was met with the sight of Maddie in a very un-Maddie like get up.

"Like Oh my _Gawd_. If it isn't Oriental Barbie." Dylan drawled.

True enough, Maddie was wearing a hot pink blazer with matching skirt, a pair of mile-high Louboutins, and of course, had Bagel in her arms.

"Shut up, Dylan." She pouted, depositing Bagel onto the coffee table and ignoring his whimper of protest.

"Would you prefer Tokyo Hilton?" He grinned.

Maddie fixed him with a withering glare.

"How did the meeting go?" Carmen asked, picking up Bagel into her arms for a much needed cuddle.

"The usual. I'm not in any danger of losing my scholarship, anyhow. When do we need to leave for the game?"

Dylan checked his watch. "Twenty minutes."

"Great, I have time for a shower then." The dancer sighed rather sadly, trudging into the bathroom.

* * *

Connie Moreau stared into the mirror as she braided her hair. The deep bags under her eyes nor her sunken cheeks did not escape her notice.

"Hey."

She turned around to see Julie, already suited up, in the doorway. "Wilson wants a word with all of us."

She nodded tiredly, just knowing that this game would be a disaster.

* * *

"Dude, we're screwed." Fulton muttered anxiously to a pale and silent Adam. "Not only is it the first game of the season, we don't have a strategy and we have no idea how Ridgewood plays."

Adam determinedly swallowed the rising bile in his mouth. "There's nothing for it now, Fult. We're going on the ice in five minutes. How's our captain doing?"

The dark haired boy glanced over at a dejected looking Charlie. "He looks how I feel."

"Great." Adam swore softly, feeling a twinge of pity for his friend. These last few weeks had been hard on him especially, mostly due to the fact that Charlie felt the team was his responsibility.

"On the ice, _now_!" Wilson bellowed from the entrance to the locker rooms.

"We're on, buddy." Fulton gave Adam a comforting and painful smack on the back.

The other boy just gave a weak smile. He _really_ needed to throw up.

* * *

"Can you like run for president again? The Alumni box is a lot more comfortable than the stands." Maddie grumbled as she shifted around in her seat and obviously tried to get more comfy.

Carmen raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe if you got some meat on your bones, you'd have some more cushioning to fall back on."

"Ignore her. You can't afford to get any bigger, Mads. Remember. _I'm_ the one that has to lift you. Now hand over that popcorn." Dylan interjected, as he also wiggled around and tried to get comfortable.

"Get your own, assface!"

Carmen resisted the urge to cry. They were starting again.

* * *

Emily Parker thought she was having a heart attack.

She couldn't breathe. She was hyperventilating. She was seeing spots.

Oh wait, no. That was just that awful skirt Eileen Vance was wearing.

"Will you pull yourself together!" Allie Howard snapped.

"Pull myself together! Are you insane? Half our squad is incapacitated!" She hissed.

Allie smirked slightly. "That's what they get for eating the meatloaf. I told them it was poison for the veins."

Emily stared at her in disbelief.

"Easy, tiger." Allie soothed, guiding her distraught friend to a bench.

"This can't be happening to me…" The taller girl muttered, wringing her hands.

Allie ignored her as she tried to get on top of the situation. "Alright, so five of our girls are currently in the bathroom, puking and shitting their brains out. Which leaves four of us, including Hannah and Amber, in control of bodily movement."

"Don't you mean bowel movement?" A smirking brunette appeared on her other side.

Emily's head shot up. "Shut up, Hannah. I'm glad you find my apparent humiliation so funny."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Get that stick out of your ass, Parker."

Emily lunged at her but was firmly held back by her friend. "Stop that! Em! Chill!"

"Oh, go suck face with that disgusting cowboy of yours!" The blond snarled, brushing off her hands.

"Why suck face when I can suck his-" Allie started with a lewd smirk but was interrupted by the appearance of a tall black girl. "Hey, Amber. What's happening?"

"Ridgewood's killing us." Amber said bluntly. "Both girls are injured, the captain looks like he wants to die, the Asian kid's down, the Latino guy has a nasty cut on his head and it looks like your ex-boyfriend isn't doing too well either."

Emily's eyes widened. "Adam's hurt?" she asked softly.

"What do you care? You dumped him, remember?" Hannah snorted rather rudely.

"Hey! Enough from both of you!" Amber commanded. "We have fourteen minutes til we go out to do our routine. And we have to go to raise moral support. We _are_ going out there, like it or not."

Emily rubbed her temple. "We only have four people, Amber. All our routines are designed for an odd number of cheerleaders. Someone has to drop out."

"What, and three cheerleaders go out there on the rink?" Hannah growled.

"Are you _trying_ to be a pain in my ass today?" Emily snarled, literally towering over her. She was rather tall and had found that height was an instrumental intimidation technique.

"Girls, for the last time!" Amber yelled. A senior and their captain, she had a remarkable ability to keep her temper. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times. "I need ideas, girls. Hannah's right. Three cheerleaders going out there are going to look ridiculous."

"Are any of the other uniforms in clean condition?" Allie spoke up, her brows furrowed in thought.

They all stared at her. "What?"

"I mean, do they have bile and other bodily substances stained on them?" Allie demanded.

"Um…only Natalie's is clean." Amber said, holding out a clean uniform from Natalie's locker.

"Great." The petite girl muttered, snatching it from her hands. "I'll be back with a temporary member of the squad."

Emily stared after her. "She's gotta be kidding me."

"Where on Earth is she gonna find someone who can learn a whole routine in five minutes?" Amber demanded, collapsing on the bench.

"And not only that. Where the hell is she gonna find someone that can fit into that uniform? Natalie's a size two!" Hannah added.

Emily opened her mouth but Amber beat her to it. "Here, let me. Hannah, shut up."

Hannah shut up.

* * *

"Hey, how's your shoulder?"

Connie Moreau opened her eyes and winced. "I've been better. I can't really move it."

Charlie's eyes hardened and he leaned down to brush his lips across her forehead. "Connie-"

"Change it up! On the ice, now!" Wilson yelled before grabbing him by his jersey and unceremoniously hauling him to his feet. "Conway, that means you! And pick up the hitting!"

"Dude, we've lost this game. It's twelve to three." Guy said quietly to Charlie as they skated back into the fray.

Charlie's mouth set in a determined line. "It's not over til it's over, Guy."

"Trust me, Charlie. It _is_ over." Averman snorted before he was viciously slammed into the wall.

* * *

"What a letdown today, folks. With only one period remaining, the Ducks are trailing by nine with half the team injured. The Ridgewood Ravens have really trounced them this time. You gotta ask yourself. What _is _Coach Wilson doing?" Josh Landon announced brightly from the announcer's box.

"I'm so embarrassed." Dylan muttered, his face in his hands.

"Tell me about it. Carmen! Will you stop grilling Wilson for a second and act _normal_!" Maddie scolded.

Carmen tore her eyes away from the hated hockey coach and focused on her friend. "Do you _mind_?"

"Hopeless. This is so depressing. I'm getting a corn dog." The Asian girl sniffled, getting up.

"Hey, take him with you!" Carmen yelled as she pushed Dylan after her.

Stumbling a little, he nonetheless turned around to wink at her cheekily. "I knew you couldn't keep your hands off me."

Carmen snarled in annoyance as he merrily skipped away.

"You know-" She turned to face the elderly couple in front of her. "You might as well give him a chance. He seems quite persistent."

Her smile could have charmed the birds right out of the trees. "I'll give him a chance if we win this game."

* * *

Allie Howard leaned against the wall and bit back the urge to swear. She had thought this would be simple. Find a skinny chick that was slightly coordinated and teach her the basics and they wouldn't have a problem.

Too bad the girls in this dump were hopelessly inadequate.

Allie was just a _tad_ cranky.

She had no fifth cheerleader and that total _cow_ of a male had checked her boyfriend into the boards _twice_. If there was _one_ bruise marring his dear, sweet face, there was going to be hell to pay. Glancing around one last time before conceding to defeat, Allie decided to just swear like a pirate.

Until her vision was marred by the obnoxious appearance of he who was fortunate enough to share her gene pool.

"Hey, slut. How's it going?" Dylan smirked cheerfully.

_Dear God, why does my life _SUCK_? You mind working with me here?_ Allie thought before turning her attention back to her cousin. "Nothing much, you cuntbag. Now go away."

He pretended to be hurt. "You know, people might think we don't like each other if we don't watch our language."

"Now wouldn't that be a shame-"

"Hey, Allie! I thought I heard you sneering." Maddie greeted her brightly, holding an extraordinarily large corndog in each hand. "Here you go, loser."

"Sweet." Dylan breathed, immediately taking a huge bite into the offered corndog. "Mmm…phanfs."

"No problem. Want a bite?" Maddie offered solicitously to Allie, holding out hers.

The blonde surveyed the flesh popsicles with disgust. "You're gonna die, Maddie. Those things are death on a stick."

Maddie swallowed. "Then I guess I'll die happy."

"You know…that's what I told her. Madame Baryshkev isn't going to be too happy about your eating habits, you know. You should just hand that over." Dylan butt in.

Allie froze.

Madame Baryshkev. The _dance_ teacher. Who taught Maddie. Because Maddie was a _dancer_. An extremely _talented_ dancer. An extremely talented, _skinny_ dancer!

_Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise I'll go to church this week!_ Allie thought, looking up to the heavens.

"Allie? You okay?" Maddie asked, looking concerned.

The cheerleader snapped out of her reverie and gave Maddie a sickeningly sweet smile.

One that managed to make her look rather predatory.

"You wouldn't happen to be a size two, would you?"

* * *

"What the _Hell_ do you think you are doing out there?" Coach Wilson asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

The Ducks were silent as they all sank into their respective benches. They had no energy to talk…or _listen_, for that matter.

Although, judging by the look on Wilson's face, they were all in for a wakeup call.

"ANSWER ME!" He yelled, smashing a hockey stick next to the wall and dangerously close to Ken's head. "Why the _HELL_ are we _LOSING?_ Can't any of you do anything _RIGHT?"_

"We're TRYING! It's not our fault that we didn't know any of their plays!" Charlie yelled, looking close to breaking something himself.

"Yeah! Stop trying to blame us for all this _SHIT_!" Portman growled, standing up to tower over Wilson.

"You little-" Wilson started, his eyes flashing menacingly before he was cut off.

"Who the hell do you think you are! Why don't you just go and fuckin' drown for all the help _you've_ been to us!" Fulton snapped, he too standing up.

Goldberg watched an extremely prominent vein throbbing in Wilson's forehead. It looked ready to burst. I _hope it does burst_, he thought sullenly.

Wilson stood stock still, his fury radiating from every pore of his body. "Alright, then. Conway, Portman, Reed. You're out. Don't bother getting back on the ice." He hissed before leaving and slamming the locker room door behind him.

"Mother fuckin' piece of shit, we're screwed." Julie breathed, closing her eyes and wishing all of this was a dream.

Or more of a nightmare.

* * *

"She was the only logical choice. She's talented, she's skinny, she's insanely perky, and she's kinda cute in a waifish-starving-stray-dog kind of way."

"She looks ridiculous with those pompoms."

"_Everyone_ looks ridiculous with those pompoms."

Emily spun around to glare at her. "You do realize I hate her, right?"

Allie rolled her eyes. "You do realize that I don't give a flying fuck, right?"

Giving an exasperated huff of disapproval, Emily flounced away. Allie watched her go, feeling rather exasperated herself. She then looked over to where Amber was teaching Maddie the cheer sequence. To Maddie's credit, she hadn't missed a step yet.

_This will all be fine_. Allie told herself.

"How are we supposed to do this on the ice?" Maddie asked, as they walked over to the rink's entrance.

"They roll out a rubber mat for us. Ridgewood's gets to perform first and then it's our turn…" Allie answered before trailing off into stunned silence.

"We're completely fucked." Hannah breathed, her eyes staring at the scene in front of her in shock.

The Ridgewood Ravens cheer squad was unbelievable.

_Perfect coordination. Everything's in step! Dear God, that was four consecutive back flips. They're better than us. I think I'm gonna be sick._ Amber thought weakly as she watched their routine.

Emily turned to face them resolutely. "There is no way in Hell I'm going out there. I'm not making a fool out of myself."

* * *

Carmen watched the three giants grumpily stomp their way over to where she was sitting. Raising an eyebrow at their silent grunts of acknowledgement as they hunkered down into the empty bench, she finally found herself curious enough to ask about their presence.

"Aren't you supposed to be down there? You know…it's a hockey game…supposedly….and hockey players usually play in these games. They don't sit in the stands." She hinted tactfully.

"He kicked us out." Charlie grumbled, his arms crossed defiantly.

"Asshole." Muttered Portman in agreement.

Fulton cracked his knuckles. "Major asshole. Now we're definitely gonna lose."

"Oh." Carmen pondered, before turning back to the pep rally thing on the ice. She wasn't sure what it was called. "These girls are good."

"Yea." Portman growled, looking even more grumpy if possible. "I can't believe it. Their _cheerleaders_ are kicking our ass too."

Charlie looked around at him. "What do you mean?"

"We've got nothing on them." Fulton huffed morosely.

"Oh? And you would know about the cheerleader's routine how?" Carmen asked, frowning slightly.

"They practice before us and there's this neat little peephole-" Portman replied unabashedly before he was stopped by a jab from a frantic looking Charlie.

Carmen said nothing and turned back to the ice. The look of slight amusement on her face was enough to convey the message.

* * *

Connie Moreau quietly sat on the bench in the locker room and tried to ignore the pounding pain in her shoulder. It seemed to radiate throughout her whole body and she felt ready to pass out any second. The only reason she hadn't said anything was because the other players weren't much better.

As she looked around the locker room, she noticed most of the inhabitants were in varying stages of physical turmoil.

Adam silently sat in a corner, probably tending to his bruised ribs and sucking up any complaints, like he usually did. He had been the sole focus of Ridgewood's offense for the second period and had to be in an excruciating amount of pain.

Julie half sat, half lay on the floor, wrapping an Ace bandage around her rapidly swelling ankle. She too, made no sound of complaint.

Ken was barely conscious as Russ and Averman tried to help bandage his head. Luis had a thin trickle of blood running down his cheek and made no effort to staunch the flow as he slumped against the wall.

"Shall I turn on the TV? It's time for the rally thing." Goldberg broke the silence tentatively.

"How about not." Adam said flatly, clearly not eager to see his ex-girlfriend, Emily, out on the ice.

"Go ahead, Goldberg." Dwayne suddenly commanded. "It might help raise our spirits."

Luis perked up. "Speaking of spirits…I have this sudden urge to get completely wasted."

"Shut up, Mendoza!" Julie snapped. Then as she took a deep breath to calm herself, she turned to Goldberg and gestured for him to turn it on. "Why not? It anything, we could use a nice laugh."

He immediately turned on the screen and the locker room was suddenly filled with the sound of the ice rink.

"There's only five of them?" Connie asked, looking confused. "I thought there was at least nine!"

"Probably sick with the meatloaf." Luis nodded sagely.

There was a brief pause where the remaining Ducks peered closely at the screen.

"Is it just me or do our cheerleaders look completely lost?" Guy asked, his eyes narrowing speculatively.

"Somewhere between lost and terrified out of their minds." Averman agreed. "I should know. I see it every time in the mirror before a math test."

"Wait a second." Adam frowned. "The black girl is the captain, right? And the tall blonde is Emily. The short blonde is Allie. The brunette is…Hannah, I believe. Who's the black haired one?"

Julie squinted before giving a gasp. "No way."

Russ cottoned on. "No _fucking_ way. That's _Maddie!_"

"That girl is gonna be the death of me." Connie mumbled, rubbing her shoulder absently. "What on earth is she _doing_?"

Goldberg let out a small snicker. "I don't know but she sure looks dumb with those pompoms. They're bigger than her head."

"Shhh! They're starting." Dwayne hushed them impatiently.

* * *

The healthy members of the Eden Hall cheerleaders plus one rather confused Asian girl stood on the mat in their positions, looking at their captain. All of them were rather nervous due to the intense personal humiliation that was about to occur. People are funny like that.

Amber took a deep breath and nodded at the DJ. Immediately the music started blaring through the loudspeakers and pasting a large fake smile on her face, Amber brought her arms up.

_Well it's not like anything _else_ can go wrong_. Allie groaned to herself as she too started her cheer.

And then with a loud screech, the music stopped.

_Murphy, you're a bitch._ Allie ground out, as she and the other members stopped their painfully simple and pointless routine and watched the DJ try frantically to fix whatever technical problems he was having.

* * *

_Shit_, Dylan thought as he watched the disaster that was the Eden Hall cheerleaders just stop.

Normally, he would have been extremely entertained by the humiliation that the girls down below were going through. After all, they were pointless pawns in the great chess game of existence. They weren't _real_ people. You know, the ones that actually _matter_. Duh.

But right now, Dylan did care. Because _his_ girl was down there.

Maddie was part of this stupid thing all because of his stupid cousin and now he was part of this stupid thing too. Because that was what stupidly loyal friends did. Meddle in each other's lives.

And Maddie and he were the _epitome_ of stupidly loyal friends.

And so Dylan, thinking fast in that complex little head of his, touched upon an idea. Racing through the stands and trying to ignore the growing murmur of dissatisfaction that was spreading through the assembled mass, he finally reached his destination.

The section where the Eden Hall band was located.

And more importantly, where Scott Pendleton, resident drummer, was located.

"I need to use your drums." The soccer player ordered, waving him aside impatiently.

Scott's eyes narrowed and he glared at the impudent blond boy. "What for?"

"Cause I'm _their_-" Dylan pointed towards the sad bunch of red and white down at the center of the rink. "music life line. Now move! I don't have time for this."

"You don't even have sticks! I'm not letting you use mine!" The rather goofy looking boy objected.

Dylan smirked. "As a matter of fact, I do have sticks." With a flourish, he pulled a pair of drumsticks out of his pocket and shoved them in the other boy's face. "I carry them everywhere."

"They're_ pink_!"

"_Hot _pink, actually. And they have glitter on them. They were a gift from Maddie. Aren't they nice?" He said proudly.

"No way! Do you even know how to play? No!" Scott stated adamantly, running a hand through his wild mane of dark curly hair.

"As a matter of fact, I might even play better than you." The blond growled, obviously taking offense. "Now move, before I _make _you move."

"Really, Scott. Just move." A small girl interjected quietly and shyly, looking bashfully at the taken aback Dylan. It was obvious she was yet another girl that had fallen for his appeal.

'Why thank you, my dear girl." The soccer player smiled brilliantly, showing off his dazzling white teeth to the blushing girl. "See, Scott? Listen to the sweetheart and move."

"What do I get?" Scott asked belligerently.

_You little piece of-_, Dylan thought furiously before giving him the first answer that popped up into his head. "A date with Madison Kim!"

"Really?" The idiot asked, looking extremely surprised and pleased.

"Yeah, yeah. Now move!" Dylan growled, and finally deciding enough was enough, he reached over and bodily pulled Scott out of his seat and dumped him unceremoniously on the floor. "Douchebag…"

Settling himself down, he looked down toward the cheerleaders who were now being booed all across the stadium.

"_**MADDIE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? BREAK IT DOWN!"**_ He bellowed loud enough for the kids sitting around him to cover their ears. And with that, he started to beat out a fast paced bass line.

* * *

Maddie snapped to attention at the command of her best friend and instinctively, her mind started working out a dance sequence set to the rhythm. Slightly turning around, she gazed at the rest of the cheerleaders and gave them a reassuring smile. "I'm gonna do a main sequence based on our old routine. Just join me after the first round."

"What!" Emily spluttered. "Are you insane!"

But it was too late. Maddie had already started.

And she never stopped dancing for anything.

"Emily. Shut up and watch." Allie muttered, as she fell into step with Maddie.

The crowd was most appreciative.

* * *

The Ducks lost.

It was expected, after all. Half the team was incapacitated, three of their most valuable players had been kicked out, and their best goalie was barely able to skate.

But even the bare, cold facts weren't enough to make Carmen Rivera feel any better after watching the humiliating defeat. The crowd was upset that their favorite team had shown such a lack of skill, Coach Orion of the JV team looked extremely angry/disappointed in general, and Den Buckley was spitting nails.

Carmen was a forward thinking sort of girl. She prepared for any mishaps and any sort of occurrence. It was that quality that had made her such an effective president. And right now she realized that if the Ducks' season continued to be jeopardized in this manner, the players would not be getting into college.

There were scouts everywhere and the majority of the Ducks needed athletic scholarships. And scouts did not pick losers.

It was time for action.

"Car?"

She turned around and saw Maddie trotting towards her. "Where's your pompoms?"

"I gave them back. I'm never doing that again. I've never felt so awkward in my life." Maddie said seriously before looking nervously towards the locker rooms. "They're going to be in a lot of pain."

Carmen nodded absently, her fingers digging in her purse. "Here's a 50. Why don't you order some pizzas and then pick up some ice and ointments? I would do it myself but I have to place a couple phone calls."

Obediently giving her a kiss on the cheek, Maddie clutched the bill in her hand and skipped off, most likely in search of Dylan.

Carmen checked her watch. _Perfect. Right on schedule._

* * *

"Hey, Maddie!"

She turned around to see a grinning Dylan with a grumpy Portman and Fulton trailing behind.

"So was that hot or was that hot?" Her best friend crowed, picking her up into his arms and twirling around. "I mean, the performance, not the game."

Fulton scowled.

"It's ok." Maddie patted his cheek comfortingly as they walked towards the dormitories. "Karma's a bitch. He'll get what's coming to him."

"He better." Portman growled. "Or I'll kill him myself."

"Hey, be easy." The soccer player soothed, twirling his sticks idly. "Don't sweat. My lady love is working on it."

"Your lady love hates you." Fulton smirked, before turning to Maddie. "On a lighter note, Mads, you have a date next Saturday night."

"I do?" She asked with a frown, obviously thinking hard. "I don't remember-"

"That's mostly because I just arranged it today." Dylan mumbled, surreptitiously slipping behind Portman.

"What!"

"It was the only way! He wouldn't give me his drums!" The blond protested, cowering beneath her outraged stare. "It's not like I would've pimped you out to the likes of him if I hadn't needed something in the first place! I mean, come on! He wears _pleather_!"

"You pimped me out to _Scott Pendleton?_" Maddie screeched in outrage.

"You know, my day has suddenly gotten a lot better." Portman remarked, looking extremely cheerier.

"I needed to! I'm sorry but if I hadn't, you would've been the laughing stock of Eden Hall!"

"I understand that but _Scott Pendleton_?" She whined. "I mean, come on! My ex-boyfriend in New York is now a top male model! I've made out with Logan Spelling, your so called _amazing _teammate, twice! And-and I went out with Aaron! He was considered one of the hottest guys of his year! And now, you're sticking me with _Scott Pendleton_? He's so sketchy!"

"How is Aaron anyhow?" Fulton interjected.

Maddie brightened. "Oh he's great! He's loving L.A. and he gets to spend more time with his grandma." Her face then darkened. "Dylan! You suck! Scott used to torture _mice_! I don't stand for animal cruelty!"

"He was six! Give the douche bag a break! And it's not like I would let you be alone with him! I'll come along as a double!"

"You don't have a date! And no, Carmen's not going to go with you! In fact, she's probably going to _castrate_ you when she finds out what you did!"

Dylan blinked and then smiled complacently. "I'm sure Charlie would let me borrow Connie. And even if that fails, there's always Julie."

Her lower lip trembled.

"It's just one date. And don't worry, I'll be there." He said softly.

"And if he tries anything, me and Fulton will take care of him, sweetheart." Portman promised with a wink.

Just then a car horn honked. Turning around, the four saw a black sports car driving up to them and looking closer, they saw it was full of the Ridgewood hockey players that were leaning out of the sides of the car.

"Hey, Asia! Wanna take a ride?" One of them yelled.

"You could give us a private dance!"

"Eden Hall blows!"

Maddie merely scowled in annoyance while Portman and Fulton looked murderous.

"On three?" Dylan asked solicitously, his face tight with irritation. She nodded, her eyes narrowed in dislike.

"One…two…THREE."

Standing together by the edge of the path, Maddie and Dylan cupped their hands around their mouths and yelled the one phrase that no boy ever wants to hear.

"_**RIDGEWOOD LIKES BUTTTTT SEX!**_"

* * *

A man sat in his office, looking out towards the bright, sunny day. How he loved Californian weather.

Correction. How he loved California and his job, period.

He was broken out of his reverie when his telephone rang.

"Yes, Estelle?" He asked, wondering why his secretary was interrupting him.

"Sir, there's a call on line two for you."

"Who is it?"

"She didn't say. The call's from Minnesota, so I thought you might like to take it."

"Alright, put her through." The man sighed, and leaned back in his chair, his curiosity piqued.

"At once, sir."

"_Hello_?"

"Yes, who may I ask I am speaking to?" The man asked, leaning forward.

The voice that answered was extremely businesslike and held no tone for interruption.

"_Hello, my name is Carmen Rivera. I'm calling on behalf of the Eden Hall Mighty Ducks. It is in your and their best interest if you listened to me very carefully, Mr. Bombay._"

Gordon Bombay froze and unwound himself from his chair. "I'm all ears, Ms. Rivera."

* * *

Whooooo, this is a long one.

R&R, please! Have a nice day!

**Joshysgirl: **Thank you, my dear girl. You are a light in my dark, dark world.

**Babybee13: **Thanks for the review! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. I'm kinda iffy on it.

**Sam: **I hope I don't let you down! Thanks for the review!

**Sphinx005: **Thanks for the review. Wilson's in deep shit.

**Banksiesbabe99: **Yea, I feel bad for Dylan occasionally. He's such an arrogant girly-man. Thanks for the review!


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks._

– _Chapter Four_ –

* * *

The next day dawned bright and early. The autumn sunshine was streaming through the windows and the birds were chirping to their little hearts content. People were just stirring from their slumbers and were cheered by the fact that it was the beginning of what seemed to be a glorious weekend.

Well, some people were cheered.

_I hate the motherfucking sun,_ Connie Moreau thought as she yanked the covers up over her face. Her left shoulder was throbbing and she was still hacked off about the humiliating outcome of the previous night. _This is useless. I can't go back to sleep._

Wincing as she used her shoulder for leverage, she slowly sat up in her bed. It looked like her roommate was still sleeping, judging from the Maddie-sized lump that was wrapped in a bright white comforter.

Bagel opened his eyes at the sound of movement, and sat up from his place on Maddie's bed.

"Hey, sweetie." Connie greeted softly, smiling at the lovable canine.

Bagel immediately jumped down from his master's bed and trotted over to Connie's. He wasn't one to interfere in matters of petting.

"Good boy." The brunette murmured, picking him up with her good arm and slowly making her way out of the room. "Christ, do you ever go to sleep?"

Carmen Rivera looked up from her desk, a pair of glasses perched on her nose. Giving her a lopsided smile, she pointed to the mini-fridge. "There's some ice in there. Leave it on your shoulder and go to the nurse later today to take a look at it."

"Thanks." Connie sighed, dropping Bagel out in the hallway so he could go do his morning run. "I feel like I'm half dead."

"And I feel like I can't walk." Julie Gaffney muttered as she hobbled into the living room. "I wonder how the boys are doing."

Carmen came around her desk and helped Julie sit down. "I would imagine that they would be feeling just about the same as you. Tea? I have some Earl Grey ready."

"That would be great." Connie murmured, easing into an armchair. She paused. "Is it too prying of me to ask how the whole Wilson thing is coming along?"

"It's going pretty well, actually. The less you know, the less you have to tell anyone of authority." Carmen replied easily. "That reminds me. Is Maddie still sleeping?"

"No, she's awake due to loud movements in the living room." The subject grumbled, as she stumbled out of her bedroom. "Where's my dog?"

"Out." Connie answered, taking a deep sip of her tea. "Mmmm. Alright I'm gonna go check on Charlie. I'll see you girls later."

Julie got up as well and slowly moved towards the bathroom. "I'm off too. I need a shower."

As she sat back in her chair, Carmen waited for both girls to leave the room before turning to face a rather cranky Maddie. Pushing her cup of tea towards her, Carmen fixed her with an intense stare. "I need help."

"Correction. You need a _lot_ of help, which starts with psychiatrists and does not end with self-improvement books. Dr. Phil and Oprah could be included in there somewhere as well." The girl snorted, downing the contents of the cup in one gulp and immediately coughing as it burned her throat.

"Be nice." Carmen chided. "I need copies of the Eden Hall budget summaries for the last few years. You know, how much was paid for different ventures, the salaries that were offered, you get the picture."

"How soon do you need it?" Maddie asked, her brow furrowed in thought.

"As soon as possible. I need time to cross-reference them with my own findings. And I have an attorney flying out here on Tuesday."

Maddie stared at her for a few seconds. "So I'm guessing this is a case of embezzlement? Wilson…embezzlement…attorney. Oh, Willie. What on Earth did you get yourself into?"

The other girl nodded, adjusting the amber pendant that always hung around her neck. "I'm so going to land his ass in jail."

"Just how much money are we talking about here anyway?" Maddie asked, tucking her slipper clad feet underneath her.

"We're in the thousands. _Upper_ thousands." Carmen answered cryptically. "Oh and you and I are taking a trip later tonight. Wear comfortable clothes."

"Trip?"

Carmen smiled darkly. "Think of it as an educational experience. Be ready to go at around eight. By the way, do you know anyone who has a car?"

* * *

"My face is ruined."

"It is not."

"I'm never going to get a girl again."

"How arrogant can you be?"

"Shut up, Julie. I have a reputation to uphold."

She rolled her eyes and concentrated on tightening the Ace bandage that was currently wrapped around her foot. Luis had been moaning for the last hour about the thin scar that graced his cheekbone, which apparently, "marred" his beautiful countenance.

_Idiot_, Julie thought, savagely yanking the wrap tighter. Here she was, barely able to walk, while he only had a small scar as a reminder of last night's game. How unfair was that.

"Alright. What do you think?" Julie turned her head tiredly to look at the preening Luis. He had put on a small bandage over his cut and the effect was ludicrous.

"I think you look ridiculous."

He glared at her. "I think I look a lot better than Nelly, thank you very much."

"Nelly doesn't have _teeth_."

"I look hood. I kinda like it." Luis admitted, admiring himself in the mirror.

Averman looked up from his perch on the sofa. "Well, I agree with Julie. You look ridiculous."

"No one asked you, carrot top." Luis huffed. "Some people actually care about what they look like."

"And _some _people care too much." Julie snapped, gingerly standing up to test her foot. "By the way, what are you guys doing here? It's _my_ living room."

"Your living room is cleaner than ours." Averman explained, flipping through a Victoria's Secret catalogue. "Wow."

"Oh give me that!" The goalie growled, snatching the magazine out of his hands. "You're absolutely disgusting."

"How is admiring the human body disgusting?" The redhead demanded, looking extremely put out.

"There's a difference between admiring and ogling. And you are blatantly _disgusting._" And with that, Julie hobbled off into her room and slammed the door behind her.

"Jesus, somebody's cranky." Adam Banks remarked, lounging in the doorway. "What did you do, Aves?"

"Nothing!" He protested, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

Luis turned towards them, wearing a pair of Prada aviators. "Okay, how about now? Is this look better?"

Adam snorted and settled down on the sofa. "I think you look like the stereotypical half-bit reggaeton star."

"Shut up, cake face. _You_ wear sweater vests so don't even _think_ of talking to _me_ about style." Luis sniffed, ignoring Adam's eye-rolls. "And besides, you obviously don't appreciate reggae so I wouldn't be so quick to make judgments. Right, Carmen?"

"Mhmmm." She murmured absently, her head once again buried in a huge sheaf of papers as she walked in through the door. However, she did spare him a glance and immediately raised an eyebrow upon examining him.

"You see, me and Carmen, full-blooded Hispanics that we are, share the same adoration for reggae and Latin flavor so-"

"I believe those sunglasses are _mine_." She cut in smoothly, plucking them off Luis's face. "And I'm not full-blooded. Only Puerto Rican on my dad's side. My mom's family is from Norway."

"Where are you in a rush to?" Adam asked, gingerly rubbing his ribs. They still hurt like a bitch. Ridgewood had done quite a thorough job.

"I need to find Josh Landon."

"Isn't he the announcer at our games?" Averman asked

"He's also the upperclassmen president _and _a personal acquaintance." She answered breezily.

Luis leered. "Does Carmen have a crush? I never thought I'd see the day."

"Actually," Carmen said, fixing him with a flat glare. "I'm planning on stealing his car."

"He _does_ have a nice ride. Good choice." Adam agreed approvingly.

"I rather thought so. There's some pain relief cream in the medicine cabinet if your ribs still ache." She said, picking up her purse. "And Luis…man up."

Luis stared at the suite door once it closed on her figure.

"At least she didn't kick us out." Averman offered, reaching for a Cosmopolitan that lay on the coffee table.

"Oh and I want all of you out within the hour." Carmen growled, poking her head back in and looking quite cross. "Averman, put that magazine down if you want to keep what remains of your balls. Even _I_ don't read that shit."

* * *

Guy Germaine was enjoying a rather fitful sleep when a loud bang reverberated throughout his room.

"Jesus Christ, Dylan! Quiet the fuck down!" He groaned, while burrowing even deeper into his pillows. "I'm not ready to be conscious yet."

"I'm not Dylan, I'm not planning on quieting _the fuck_ down, and I most certainly am not _HAPPY_."

Guy's eyes popped open. _Shit_, he thought as he immediately sat up in bed and tried to get his hair into some semblance of order. "Alicia! What brings you here?"

Alicia Harrolds stood with her hands on her hips and a _very _ugly expression on her face. "What brings _me_ here? What brings _ME_ here? Gee, I don't know! Maybe the fact that last night, after watching your humiliating defeat, I go back to my room, intending to make you some cake, when I just happen to have an email waiting for me. An email that's from you _BREAKING UP WITH ME_! Maybe _that's_ what's up!" She all but shrieked.

"Now Leesh-" He started, feeling extremely panicky. Was there some sort of escape route that he could use?

"Don't you 'Leesh' me!" Alicia screamed, her dark hair practically crackling with anger. "Who the _hell_ do you think you are? I spent over a _year_ with you! And all of a sudden you decide I'm not good enough? Is that it? Tell me! Is that _it_!"

Now normally Guy was a very brave boy. A very brave man, even.

But he never could stand up to dark haired, strong willed women. Especially if he happened to be dating them.

Example A was Connie Moreau.

Example B was standing right in front of him.

So it was understandable that in lieu of the fact that his now ex-girlfriend was about ready to start hacking away at his extremities, Guy did a most un-Guy like thing.

Meaning he let out a small high pitched squeak of despair and bolted out of bed and ran for the door. He needed to save the family jewels, after all.

"Good morning, Guy. Good bye, Guy." Dylan said brightly, as he opened the door to their shared room the instant before his roommate came hurtling out of it. "Why hello, Lisa. What on _Earth _are you still doing here? I thought Guy booted you out of his life last night. Hmmph. _Someone_ can't take a hint."

"Not helping, asshole!" Guy hissed, as he ran back into the room to grab a pair of pants to cover his boxer-clad form. Skipping nimbly away from Alicia's murderous hands, he scampered off immediately, probably in search of a dark, dank hole to hide in.

Alicia sputtered in outrage as she looked torn between chasing after her ex-boyfriend and laying into Dylan's totally insensitive nonchalance. Finally, the look of anger on her face morphed into one of abject misery and hopelessness. Taking a seat – _Hey! I didn't say she could stay!_ Dylan thought petulantly – she promptly began to cry quietly.

She looked quite the picture and it really would've wrung your heart to have seen her in that state.

It was too bad that Dylan Howard was not sympathetic in the least.

"Oh, will you quit the sob-fest. If I wanted to swim, I would have just gone to the pool." He snapped, looking disgustedly at the weeping mess of a girl. "Besides, crying _so _doesn't help your complexion. And, between you and me, your complexion needs all the help it can get."

Alicia looked at him, with tears pouring down her cheeks. "Have you no compassion? Maddie always says that you're the sweetest thing in the whole school! And the way people talk about you, one would think you're the next Messiah or something!"

"Well…I kind of _am_ a big deal." He replied unabashedly. "And besides, is your name Maddie?"

"No."

"Then honestly ask yourself why I would even _think_ about listening to your stupid problems." Dylan huffed, shaking his hair out of his eyes. "Now can you like, I don't know…_get out_?"

Her response to that was only to wail louder.

"Jesus Christ, what is going on in here?" Connie walked into the room and peered curiously over at the crying girl. "Charlie has a splitting headache and all this crying isn't helping matters."

"Well, if you'd just get Waterworks over here to leave our suite, we wouldn't _have_ this problem!" The blond paused, dramatically pondering what he just said. "Oh wait, yes we would. Charlie gets a headache just by reading a menu."

"Dylan!" Connie scolded although the corners of her mouth twitched traitorously. Dylan in a bad mood was always amusing, no matter how politically incorrect he got. "What's got you so pissy?"

"I am _not _pissy!"

"Whatever it is, figure it out on your time and meanwhile, can you…you know?" The brunette pleaded, jerking her head toward the weeping girl that was rocking back and forth on Guy's bed.

"What…as in kick her out? Sure thing!" Dylan chirped, moving towards Alicia before he was bodily held back by Connie.

"No! Help her! Do the world a public service and just calm her down! Guy can really be insensitive sometimes." She hissed, making her way out of the room.

"But-"

"No buts! Just do it, Howard!"

He gnashed his teeth together angrily and turned to face the distraught girl. _What an awful excuse of a life form_, he thought, surveying her. Then summoning all the sincerity that gathered in his body, Dylan pasted on a huge smile and strode over.

"Listen, Alice-"

"It's Ah-_lee_-sea-ah!"

"Whatever." Dylan said dismissively. "Anyway…why are you so upset? It's not like you couldn't see this coming. Guy said you guys have been having problems for awhile."

"We have! And I did see it coming! It doesn't make it hurt any less!" She sobbed. "I don't get why _I'm_ always the one dumped! Can you even guess how much I cried last night? I mean, the rejection stings so bad!"

"There's nothing wrong with being rejected!" Dylan retorted defensively. "I'm rejected all the time! Two hundred and thirty one times, if you're into keeping score."

Alicia hiccupped and glared at him through swollen eyes. "That's because you ask Carmen Rivera! She's the only girl that's ever rejected you and no wonder why! She can have any guy she wants, why on Earth would she choose _you_?"

He bristled, his stormy grey eyes snapping with indignation. "I'm more considerate than a therapist, I worship women, I can do things with soccer balls you've never even dreamed of, I'm smarter than _your_ stupid ass, I'm rich, I can bend in ways you can't imagine, I actually have friends – well more friends than _you_, anyway – _and_ I'm dead sexy. I know, dear. What the hell went _wrong_ in your silly, pointless life?"

There was silence as Alicia looked up at the smug Dylan in open mouthed wonder. Then…

She gave a tremulous little laugh. "I can see why Maddie loves you. You really are an adorable little thing, aren't you?"

He sniffed haughtily. "I prefer ridiculously charming."

"You actually made me feel better…somehow. Thanks." Alicia smiled half-heartedly. "I guess we're rejects together. Dumped by all, you know?"

"Hey, watch who you're calling a reject!" He growled. "And I'll have you know, that I've never actually been dumped. Just rejected…continuously."

Alicia bit her lip and steadied her voice. "This is my third time being dumped."

"Yeah well, it's probably because you have fat ankles. Invasive cow." Dylan muttered inaudibly.

"I'm going to learn from my mistakes. I'll be the better person this time." She said decisively.

"You go right on and do that, Lisa."

"My name's Ah-_lee_-sea-ah."

"Isn't that what I said?"

"No."

"Well…look at my face and tell me if you honestly think I care."

* * *

"Landon."

Josh Landon looked up to see Carmen Rivera pull out the chair in front of him and sit down. "Well, well. What's the occasion?"

"What do you mean, what's the occasion?" She asked, looking around the rather occupied library in distaste. How anyone could study in here was a mystery to her. "I'm not allowed to speak to you? What, now that you're upperclassmen president you're not going to bother to have a civil conversation with the lowly junior?"

Josh actually laughed. "Carmen, you've never said more than ten sentences to me since I've known you."

"But I got you out of detention once. And let me remind you, I didn't even know who you were then."

"That is true." Josh conceded, leaning back in his chair.

"So, Emory, is it?" Carmen asked, picking up an half filled out application form. "You've decided?"

"Yeah. I'm applying early decision." He answered, surveying Carmen. "Cut to the chase, Rivera."

"Fine…I need to borrow your car."

Josh stared. "You're kidding me, right?"

"No." Carmen said, her face perfectly straight. "I need a car, and you're one of the few people that I can ask."

"Are you insane? Of course not!" He exclaimed, looking scandalized. "That car is a Porsche! It's my baby! If anything happens to it, my dad will _kill_ me!"

"Well then it's a lose-lose situation, isn't it, Josh?" Carmen stated flatly. "I'll kill you if you don't give that car to me and your dad will kill you if you do."

"Has anyone told you you're extremely scary?"

"All the time." She answered smoothly. "I'm just gonna borrow the car for tonight. I'll have it back to you spic and span by tomorrow morning. And you know that my promises are legendary."

Still, he hesitated.

"Listen," She stared at him intently. "I need this car and you know I don't ask for anything unless I need to."

"You're lucky you're gorgeous, Rivera. An ugly girl wouldn't get away with half the shit you pull." Josh sighed, reaching into his pockets for his keys.

"No need. I already got them." Carmen smiled sweetly, dangling them from one finger. "I was sort of in a rush."

* * *

Madison Kim poked her head around the corner and carefully checked to see that the coast was clear. She _really_ didn't want to get caught doing this.

Thanking the lord for ballet flats, she quietly padded her way down the deserted hall. Coming to a stop at the door marked General Office, she took one more glance around and slipped the key into its lock.

_And she's in_. She thought happily as she closed the door behind her. As she worked in the General Office during the school week for service credit, she had access to the room, most of the filing cabinets and a small coffee mug that Dean Buckley gave to all dedicated monitors.

What really came in handy, however, was that Dean Buckley, in accordance with the new computerized era, enlisted Maddie's aid in inputting most of the school's data and files into the database.

Maddie was a model student but if Dean Buckley thought that she was going to let this opportunity slip by, he was either insane or just plain stupid. And so, she cleverly reconfigured the system to allow her full access. The dear old secretaries that worked there full time thought she was just twiddling around on the computer, playing games.

It was like taking candy from a _statue_.

"Now let's see…" Maddie muttered as she searched the Eden Hall files. "Budget, budget, budget…Budget!"

Quickly printing out the records, she set about erasing her tracks and immediately printed out a decoy economics paper. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins as she suddenly got a feeling of imminent doom.

It's not that she wasn't technically _allowed_ to be in this office, it was more of the fact that it was just not done. And she couldn't help but feel that Dean Buckley wouldn't approve of her perusal of the staff's private records.

Wait.

_Staff's private records_? _Why not? Might as well go all out_, Maddie thought, printing Wilson's staff file as well.

Carefully placing the documents inside the decoy economics project, she in turn put that in a folder and checked once more, that her visit to the school's database went unlogged. Everything was set.

And of course, that's when the door opened.

_Fuck me!_

* * *

"Charlie, are you feeling better?"

"No."

Connie knitted her brows in frustration and stamped her foot impatiently. "Well I don't care! Get your ass up and stop being difficult!"

Opening his eyes reluctantly, Charlie turned to look at his girlfriend. He had to admit, she was absolutely adorable when she was irritated. And the idea that he was irritating her for his own personal pleasure was totally ridiculous.

Ahem.

Deciding, however, that he had done enough damage for one day, he decided to humor his scowling girlfriend and get up.

"Well, my dear, what would you like me to do?" He grinned charmingly, slipping a shirt over his head. Dylan would've been proud of his debonair manner.

"Oh, so you finally decided to rejoin the land of the living?" She sniped waspishly. "Far be it from me to tell _you_ what to do."

Okay, so maybe debonair wasn't that close to the mark.

"Now, now, Cons. Don't be like that. I'm sorry." Charlie murmured, pulling her into his arms and accentuating each word with a kiss. "What do you need me to do?"

Connie relaxed and grudgingly looked up at him. "There's a box waiting for me at the mail room. Pick it up for me?"

"But that requires physical labor!"

She narrowed her eyes.

"You know what? I think I need the exercise."

* * *

"Well, well. What do we have here?" Arthur Wilson murmured, grazing his eyes over her frozen form. "I daresay, you're not supposed to be in this room."

Thinking fast, Maddie did the first thing she could think of. Which wasn't a very good idea at all.

"Uh…no speak English!" She squeaked, in a horrible Asian accent.

Wilson raised an eyebrow. Whatever he had expected, that hadn't been it. "Now now, Madison. What _kind_ of mischief are you trying to pull?"

She smiled weakly. "Ha…ha. Just testing you. Well, uh…I'm gonna go now."

"I think not. What exactly are you doing here, young lady? It's a beautiful day outside, shouldn't you be enjoying it?" He asked, smoothly blocking her exit.

Maddie's heart was pounding loud enough for Wilson to hear. Desperately thinking of ways to salvage her situation, she tried to swallow her fear. "Actually I just came to pick up my economics paper." She replied, holding up her folder. "It's due on Monday and I needed to finish it."

"Really…" He said softly, suddenly snatching the folder out of her hands. Narrowing his eyes at her, he leafed through a couple pages.

_Please don't find them. Please don't find them,_ she pleaded silently, nearly trembling with anxiety. She was a God-awful liar, she couldn't keep this up for much longer.

Angrily snapping the folder shut, Wilson shoved it at her, catching her off-balance so she stumbled a bit. "Listen to me carefully, little girl. Send Rivera a message for me, will you? Tell her that I'm on to her little game and that she's in way over her head. You would do well to remember that. Don't play with matches or you'll start a fire."

As they were the same height, Maddie's eyes bore into Wilson's in a deadly stare down. Her eyes held the same intensity and loathing that were usually reserved for Emily Parker. "_Fire_ won't even begin to cover it." She said softly and coldly.

His eyes flashed and for a second, he looked as if he was going to hit her.

"Maddie?"

Wilson turned to look at the door that he had forgotten to close. Charlie Conway stood in the threshold with a huge box under his arm and a menacing expression on his face.

"Is something the matter?" He asked quietly, glaring daggers at his coach.

Wilson smiled serenely, although he cursed the living daylights out of the boy in his mind. "Nothing, nothing at all. I was just leaving. Don't forget, Madison." He called over his shoulder as he left the room.

Once he was gone, Charlie turned to look at his friend. "He threatened you, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"So…did it work?"

She snorted, tossing her pretty little head. "My middle school was down the street when the South Tower fell. I lived through 9/11, what makes him think he can scare me?"

* * *

"Dude, we need to look like _him_." Goldberg said decisively, pointing to Adam.

Averman looked over at the dripping wet hockey player and pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Banksie? I guess he's pretty decent."

Pretty decent was an understatement. All in all, Adam Nathaniel Banks had the body of a god. Due to his extensive physical regimen and regular hockey practices, his body was extremely toned, with muscles rippling visibly under the skin. Unlike Portman's rather hulking figure, Adam was leaner yet still retained the musculature that defined the dedicated athlete.

It was no wonder that Emily Parker had been hot to strip him at every opportunity.

"Alright then. Let's do this." Goldberg said, squaring his shoulders and walking across the living room to intercept his childhood friend.

Adam wrapped the towel around his waist tighter and smiled at the two Ducks. "Hey guys. Whatever it is, can it wait til I'm dressed?"

"No."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

Averman nodded to Goldberg. "Grab him."

"What-hey! What the hell are you doing!" The accosted hockey player yelled as the two grabbed a hold of each of his arms and marched him back into the bathroom.

"Look at yourself." Goldberg commanded.

Adam stared at their reflection. "I'm not going to pretend this isn't a little weird, that all three of us are in the bathroom and staring at a half naked body."

"That's the spirit!" Averman grinned, clapping him on the back. "What do you see?"

"I see myself…_half naked surrounded by two guys_." He ground out, aware that his toes were still wet. Adam _hated_ having wet toes with a _passion_.

Goldberg decided to try a different approach. "Okay, okay. What are the differences between your body and our bodies?"

"Is this a trick question?" He demanded, feeling rather lost and violated.

The door opened and Dylan walked in. "Whoa, you guys having a party or something? I feel hurt, no one invited me."

"Sorry." Goldberg grinned at the irrepressible blond. "What's up?"

"Nothing, just need to take a leak." Dylan grinned, walking over to the toilet. "Don't mind me. Go back to…well, whatever it is that you're doing."

"Right on then. We need your help, Banksie boy." Averman said solemnly. "We want to have bodies like yours and we need your help in getting them that way."

Adam stared at them. "You're kidding me, right? Why me? Why not Dylan?"

"I'm not as physically impressive as you, mate. I'm like 5' 11". You've got about three inches on me." The soccer player called over his shoulder cheerfully as he did his business.

"Hey, Dylan! Have you seen my black tights?" Maddie asked, suddenly poking her head through the door.

The blond groaned. "I'm indecent, Maggot! And the three stooges are trying to make some magic happen tonight!"

"Spare me, Dipshit. We shared a bathroom in London, remember? I've seen all of you that there is to see." She snorted before looking at the trio standing in front of the mirror. "You know, Adam, you're really kinky. Two at the same time? Wow, aren't you a beast."

"What-Maddie! Maddie! Come back here!" Adam growled, making to move towards the door before he was shoved aside by the girl's best friend.

"She's long gone, Banksie." Dylan grinned, washing his hands. "Good luck breaking him in. Later, boys."

Adam looked helplessly at his two grinning friends. "What was it that you needed again?"

"We need to get rid of our pot bellies." Goldberg said, rubbing his belly fondly.

"Fine, whatever. We'll start tomorrow. Now leave." Adam snapped, shoving the two out the door. And then, he grabbed a towel and hurriedly wiped his toes dry.

Ah, that was so much better.

* * *

"Oh! It certainly took you long enough!" Connie said, plucking the box eagerly from Charlie's hands.

His protest was unheard as Connie ripped through the tape holding the box together. Whatever was in the box must have been thoroughly interesting enough for her to completely ignore him.

"Do _you_ know what's in the box?" He asked Carmen, who was busily scrolling through her Blackberry.

She barely acknowledged him with a grunt as her eyes sped at an inhuman speed across the screen. It seemed that every girl that lived in Suite 301 survived on some sort of organizer thing.

Carmen had her Blackberry which she carried around everywhere. God forbid the sucker who tried to take it from her. Not that he would have had much luck, given that there was an extremely complicated password lock installed.

Julie had one in navy blue leather, while Connie's was wrapped in a Moroccan print. And how could anyone forget Maddie's own PDA?

The much beloved bit of handheld technology was the latest that the digital world had to offer and was apparently her lifeline to the civilization. Enveloped in a custom-ordered bright gold case that sparkled in the sunlight, Maddie could never go a day without it.

"They're absolutely scrumptious!" Julie squealed.

Charlie started. Where had _she _come from? It's not like she could hobble very silently now, could she?

"I am so going to have to thank my dad for these!" Connie smiled reverently, holding what seemed to be a container up to her face and inhaling deeply.

"What's that?" He asked again, craning his head to see what was in the box. "Yo, is that marijuana? Cause you could get in a lot of trouble if it is!"

Carmen finally looked up from her scrolling and fixed him with a withering glare. "They're cookies, you moron."

"And you couldn't just answer my question before?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Cause it was a stupid question. _Of course_, I knew what was in it." She snapped, getting up. "Idiot."

Charlie's mouth opened and closed silently as he stared at her retreating form.

"Here, Charlie. Have a cookie." Connie smiled complacently, as she had been watching the whole scene for awhile. "She's a little on edge today."

* * *

"Nice ride. Who'd you jack it from?"

"Josh Landon."

Maddie beamed. "You are such a G."

"Thanks." Carmen said dryly, walking over to the driver's side of the electric blue convertible. "I just didn't realize it was this bright. I should've fleeced Jake Riley instead. At least his car is black."

"Eh. Jake Riley has had sex in his car. I'd be scared to sit down. So where're we going?" The other girl asked cheerfully, firmly pulling the seatbelt on. She had had experience with Carmen's driving and was permanently scarred for life.

"A fight club."

Maddie choked on her own spit. "A _what_?"

"Well, if Wilson manages to worm his way out of the embezzlement case, which I doubt because I've got cold, hard proof, then we can always hit him with animal cruelty." Carmen answered offhandedly, leafing through the papers that Maddie had brought her earlier.

"Animal _what_?" Maddie demanded, looking outraged. One thing that she definitely didn't stand for was animal cruelty and if Wilson had engaged in it, well, some shit was going to go down.

Carmen, however, had no time for her best friend's righteous indignation. "You are not a parrot and you are not an insipid little insect like Howard. Use your intelligence."

"What does he _do_ to them?"

The blonde hesitated. "You'll see." And kicking the car into gear, Carmen made her way down the driveway towards the gated exit.

Bernie, the security guard, looked out at them. "Hello, Ms. Rivera. Rather late for a drive, don't you think?"

"I'm nocturnal." She answered with a straight face. "And I'd like to keep my excursion between us, if possible."

Maddie poked her head over. "Hey, Bernie! How's the missus?"

Bernie's face relaxed into an indulgent smile. "She's doing just fine, Maddie. I'll tell her you said hello."

Giving him one more smile, she sat back into her seat, occupied with the lollipop Carmen had shoved into her hand.

"Later, Bernie." Carmen nodded in farewell, before she sped off.

* * *

Guy Germaine comfortably relaxed in his armchair and blessed his life as a single man. After a whole day's worth of evading and sneaking around, he felt he deserved a quiet hour or two of peace.

But alas, if you live in a boarding school, there is no way you will get peace unless you decide to kill everyone.

"No wonder you broke up with that monster! She's psychotic!" Dylan screeched as he suddenly ran into the suite and locked the door.

Guy smiled fondly. "She kind of is, isn't she? Well, I don't have to deal with her anymore."

"Well, bully for you." The soccer player spat, shaking his hair out of his eyes. "Cause now she's on to _me_! She must think we're friends or something!"

The other boy chuckled, feeling immensely relieved that the burden that was Alicia Harrolds was off his shoulders and onto his roommate's very much capable ones.

"God, what is she? Like 300 pounds? Give her a hug, I'll give her a hug, give her a hug that makes her stop breathing, that's what I'll do…" Dylan muttered darkly, pulling his pink drumsticks out of his back pocket and sitting down on his drum set. He continued to mutter as he pounded all of his day's frustrations out.

Guy just smiled, feeling rather giddy as he extracted a pair of ear muffs from under the seat of his armchair. Slipping them on, he fell into immediate silent bliss.

* * *

"So all these people…are here to watch…dog fights?" Maddie whispered, looking extremely sick. The two hid in the car as Carmen videotaped the people going into the rather swank house. They were waiting for Wilson to appear and join the mass of people.

"Yes, dear. They're all rather rich, too." Carmen said dispassionately, every nerve in her body tingling with adrenaline. "There he is."

A sleek, bright red sports car pulled up to the entrance and Wilson got out to a chorus of welcomes. Throwing his keys haphazardly to a waiting valet, Wilson and a few others stepped inside the house.

"We're gonna have to get closer. If my sources are correct, they store the dogs outside on the lawn and hold the actual fights in the basement. There's a window with which I can gain some footage." Carmen muttered, undoing her seatbelt.

Maddie swallowed the lump in her throat and followed her out. "What if we get caught?"

Her best friend's answer wasn't very inspiring. "Don't."

"But what if by some stray stroke of bad luck, I do?"

"Kick towards the genitals and run like the wind."

* * *

It really was an ugly thing. At least twenty men were gathered around a pit in the basement, cheering on a battle that bordered on survival of the fittest for the animals, and perverse pleasure for the humans. Even Carmen had felt sickened as she watched the two dogs claw and bite each other in desperation and fear.

It had been the reason why she had sent Maddie to keep look out. However she had forgotten the fact that the other now had full view of the other caged canines that were used in the barbaric display of cruelty.

"I've got enough." She murmured, walking over to the teary eyed Maddie. "We can go now."

Maddie started, then looked at the caged dogs in despair. "But we can't just leave them!"

"There's nothing we can do." Carmen whispered soothingly.

"But-"

Just then the door to the basement opened and thinking fast, Carmen whirled them around to behind the dumpster.

Two men emerged, struggling with what appeared to be a fighting, snarling beast of a dog between them. Finally succeeding in getting it to his cage, the two men stood back and watched the raging animal with awe.

"This one's a fighter, it sure is. Would you look at 'im go?"

"Yes, sir. I don't know what Wilson did to get him this mean, but whooo! This is the nastiest dog I've ever met. Rotten Willy sure fits him like a glove."

"Must reflect the owner!" The other man chortled.

"True, true. Wilson ain't the nicest one in the bunch, is he?"

"Nope. Let's go back. Travers' dog is up next."

The two girls waited with held breath as the two men descended back into the basement before tip-toeing over to the newly released dog's cage. Still barking and growling, the dog was working itself into a frenzy, smashing its massive body against the sides of the chicken wire cage.

The two girls gazed at it silently, awestruck by its power and size. And of course, being Maddie, she stepped closer.

"Maddie!" Carmen hissed, swiping for the back of her sweatshirt.

It was too late. She had crept to the side of the cage and knelt down. The dog had stopped its thrashing about when it realized he was not alone and warily regarded the intruder.

"Hi." Maddie smiled tremulously, her eyes filling with tears at the bloodied state he was in. "I'm Maddie."

The Rottweiler crept closer, sniffing at the outstretched hand cautiously.

"I'm not going to hurt you…there, come on. Good boy!" She said encouragingly, stroking his head softly. "Rotten Willy? Is that your name? Rotten Willy, the Rottweiler. You know, I have a beagle named Bagel…"

The other girl inwardly groaned. She should've just brought Julie or at least someone that didn't go ga-ga over some stupid mutt!

"You're absolutely beautiful, did you know that?"

At that, Carmen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. The dog was butt-ugly. Sure it was massive, but there were scars everywhere and the coat was far from lustrous. Its personality could have used some work as well. The girl, she decided, was completely, clinically insane.

"Who's out there?" A voice cracked through the night air and shattered the momentary peace. Rotten Willy immediately reverted back to his snarling, angry temperament.

"Move!" Carmen hissed, hauling Maddie to her feet and running through the bushes.

A crack split a tree branch next to them in two.

"Holy shit! They have shotguns? What kind of hicks are these?" The New York native screamed as they raced through the foliage. "If I wanted to get in a gun fight, I would've just went to Sheepshead Bay! There's enough armed assault there for all of New York!"

"Just shut up and get to the car!"

Dodging what thankfully seemed to be sparsely shot bullets, the two girls made it to the car in one piece. Turning the ignition on, Carmen slammed on the accelerator and gave full evidence of how great a drag-racer she was. After all, she had every summer in Puerto Rico to practice.

When they finally pulled up to Eden Hall and waited for Ernie to open the gates for them, Maddie ventured to open her eyes.

"We're alive." The blonde remarked dryly.

"I hate driving with you." The Asian girl whimpered, trying to peel her fingers off the seat.

"I'm an awesome driver. Did you _see _that? I just went 120 and didn't lose control once! I would think that shows some skill."

"_That_ is a matter of opinion."

"Anything else, your Majesty?"

Maddie paused, still testing out various body parts. "Yeah, I think I lost my liver somewhere back there."

* * *

And the next installation will show the illustrious Gordon Bombay.

Ok, I don't think I've ever said this before but I love how Dylan turned out. He's just so outrageous, whiny and petty that it's beautiful. And in my mind, he really _is_ beautiful. He's definitely my new favorite character.

R&R, please! Have a nice day!

* * *

**Babybee13:** Thanks for the review! I hope I didn't disappoint!

**Banksiesbabe99: **You're amazing. Lol, your reviews always make me feel so niceeee. Thanks!

**Tinkerbell821:** Thanks for the review and nice to meet you! I don't feel Maddie and Banksie happening any time soon but who knows? Maybe they'll feel differently later!

**Joshysgirl: **I hate angstiness. And it breaks my heart to do this to my beloved Ducks but what can I do? The plot is running and all I can do is hope to keep up.

**No Name: **Yes, I rather thought Maddie as a clueless cheerleader was a genuine pick-me-upper. Thanks for the input!

**Kelsie: **Maddie and Dylan are airheads. And I love them to bits. Thanks for the review!

**Sam: **There is definitely more to Emily Parker than meets the eye. I'm probably going to touch on that in about three or four chapters.

**Joanna:** Pleather is the bane of my existence. And Adam and Maddie are not happening as of this moment. But who knows for the future.

**antiIrony: **You make me blush. My friend smuggled her Chihuahua into school one day and actually got away with it. I couldn't believe it. And then I figured…if anyone can do it, Maddie can. Thanks for the review!

**Lyndal: **Thanks so much! I'm so happy you enjoy my work. I try to make it fit for reader consumption but I'm always iffy on what will be good or not.

**Sphinx005: **Yeah, Emily Parker pisses me off too. But, in my mind's eye, she's really hot. LOL. Thanks for the review, my dear. It's always nice to hear from you.

**KMS Snape: **Aww thank you! It's always nice to meet new readers! I love Maddie and Dylan to bits as well. They make my life complete.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks._

– _Chapter Five –_

* * *

Julie Gaffney glared at the two miscreants that were sitting on her sofa. She was currently using the menacing expression that would usually have had grown men crying.

It was just too bad that the "look" was only having an effect on one person.

Naturally, Carmen Rivera was indifferent to all around her and calmly reading some battered, obscure book. She was also effectively ignoring the jittery Maddie, who was squirming and fidgeting next to her.

"You do realize that if _one_ of those bullets had hit you, you would've been dead?" Julie hissed.

"Depends on where you're hit." Carmen answered easily, not even looking up from her book.

"Yeah, that's how we roll in the ghetto!" Maddie spoke up, smiling charmingly albeit nervously at the irate Julie.

Connie groaned. "Maddie, you're from the Upper East side. That does not equal "ghetto". Why don't you just go inside and make your bed while we talk to Carmen."

The smile slid off of her roommate's face and she sadly trudged to her room.

_It's like kicking a puppy_, Connie decided, looking at the forlorn figure.

"If we had known that the stakes of getting Wilson off our backs were this high, we never would've let you do it, Car. We'd prefer you alive, you know! You're seriously lucky that you guys didn't get hurt!" Julie said, looking close to tears.

"Jules, your concern is not unfounded but I needed to do what I needed to do. And besides, both of us are perfectly fine. Not a scratch on our bodies." Carmen soothed, peering closer at a footnote on her page.

"I can't believe that you didn't bring me along! I was stuck in here trying to avoid the she devil disguised as Guy's ex-girlfriend while you're off getting shot and having the time of your life!" Dylan Howard howled, suddenly barging into the room like a raging cow.

The blonde _finally_ looked up in irritation. "Actually, on second thought, I seem to have developed a sudden pain in my _ass_."

"And what a shapely ass it is." Dylan leered, ignoring Adam's sniff of disapproval behind him.

Connie closed her eyes. This was way too much drama for eight in the morning. Carmen and Maddie had finally come in around two the previous night and had immediately fallen asleep. Connie and Julie, of course, had been waiting for them to wake up before they could formally interrogate them an inch away from death.

Maddie's head poked out of her door. "Dylan!" She crowed happily. "Connie, can I come out now? I finished making the bed."

She was answered with a resounding "No!" from Connie, Julie and Carmen.

"Then can I at least have my dog?" She asked plaintively.

"Fine! Dylan, go inside. Whine to Maddie. Adam, make sure they don't break anything. Oh and here's the dog." Julie instructed, shoving Bagel into Adam's protesting arms. "Charlie? Dwayne? Jesus Christ, how many more of you _are_ there?"

"Everyone out." Carmen spoke up, in a deadly quiet voice. "Everyone that doesn't live here, out. Now."

Connie looked at the hesitating Charlie. "I'll talk to you later." she mouthed, knowing that Carmen's mood was extremely volatile at the moment.

God damn men. They were _so_ thick sometimes.

* * *

Adam Banks gently deposited the sleepy Bagel into Maddie's outstretched arms and looked over at an extremely sulky Dylan who had settled quite comfortably onto Maddie's bed. After sitting himself down on Connie's bed, he regarded the trio of girl, boy and dog as they sat huddled next to each other.

"So Maddie, did you eat breakfast yet?" He asked, trying to break the tense silence. "If you didn't, I can go get you some pancakes and bacon."

Her head shot up as she glared at him. "No! Not anymore!"

"Oh, shut up." Dylan muttered, turning over to pout at the wall. "I _still_ can't believe you didn't take me."

Adam, however, was still processing the abrupt answer that the normally cheerful Maddie had snapped at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me! I'm giving up meat! I'm turning vegan!" She declared, tossing her head and eyes snapping with defiance.

"Oh and are you going to run around hugging trees, too? Not shaving your armpits, waving signs that read "Make love, not war!" and singing Kumbaya by the campfire?" Dylan sniped, turning back around to give Maddie the full benefit of his scornful visage.

"Be nice, dearest. By the way, don't make light about the plight of our environment." The dancer chided, hugging Bagel close. "And besides, if you've seen what I saw yesterday, you'd want to turn vegetarian too. I'm never eating another human thing again!"

Somehow Dylan's snort of disbelief managed to have an elegant air to it. "Pigs aren't human, idiot."

"We're all equal! And I'm joining PETA too!"

Adam sighed before giving her a fond yet resigned smile. "Good for you, Mads. How about this then…I know a great vegetarian place downtown; we'll go there for breakfast. And they allow pets so Bagel and Bitchy over here will be allowed."

Maddie beamed at him. "Ok."

Dylan wasn't as pleased with Adam's comments. His overall bad temper for the past few days had escalated to the point where everyone was a target for his petty insults and biting sarcasm. No one had any idea what had upset the usually jovial blond and all were forced to endure the bouts of irritated hissing.

"Shut up, Banks. I bet you wear thongs underneath your hockey gear. Tell me, do you enjoy the friction between your butt cheeks?"

* * *

"That was some night the girls had, wasn't it?" Charlie asked, stretching out.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning and unusually hot for an October day. Charlie, Averman, Goldberg and Luis had taken advantage of the gorgeous weather and headed out to soak up some sun. Unfortunately, most of the Eden Hall student population had the same idea so the area around the lake was packed like sardines.

So the boys improvised.

They were currently lying in the Eden Hall parking lot. It was sunny, quiet and only minimally smelled of gasoline. And you could hardly feel the gravel from the thickness of their towels, which they had swiped from the cheerleaders.

"Who brought the sunscreen?" Luis demanded, smoothing out his stolen towel. "My face can't get burned."

"You're telling me!" Averman agreed. "I got it covered, Luis." He said, holding up a tube.

Goldberg stared in irritation. "Do you honestly think that tiny tube is going to be able to cover all of me?"

Charlie burst out laughing as he handed out more stolen goods – i.e. the girls' sunglasses –. Putting on Julie's, he looked over at Goldberg and Averman. "Banksie told me all about your little bathroom experience. When are you guys going to start?"

Averman adjusted Maddie's huge white frames on his freckled nose. "Probably tomorrow. The sooner, the better. I'm sick of having girls look down on me."

"Yeah," Goldberg said, giving an assenting nod. "I went on a diet. Banksie better work his magic or I _will _sit on him."

Luis snorted. "You guys will be screaming for mercy by the first week. Adam is intense."

"Forget about that. There's nothing wrong with you guys, right now." Charlie protested, frowning. It was obvious that he was deeply disturbed by his friends' insecurities.

"That's because you don't look like us, Charlie." The redhead said, looking rather somber. "You're tall and you're jacked. You have a gorgeous girlfriend and everyone respects you because you're the captain. Likewise with Adam, Luis and practically everyone else."

"Yeah, sometimes it's like we're just around for comic relief." Goldberg put in, massaging some sunscreen onto his face.

Luis turned to stare at them incredulously. "Do you guys really think that? I had no idea."

"That's absolutely ridiculous!" Charlie burst out angrily. "You guys are like the _staples_ of the Ducks. We would be _nothing_ without you! And don't you _ever_ forget that!"

"I'm not going to pretend that this isn't a little weird that you're stretched out in the middle of a parking lot." A voice came from above them. "And I guess I can tell where Julie's sunglasses went."

"Hey." Charlie greeted Connie with a kiss. "Would you please remind Goldberg and Aves that we appreciate them with no bounds?"

Shee grinned fondly at the two. "Is this about the whole improving your image thing? You guys are being ridiculous. We love you for who you are and nothing is going to change that."

Goldberg waved that aside airily. "Of course we know that. We're doing this so we can feel better about ourselves. That we can accomplish something, you know?"

"Whatever." Charlie snorted, offering his arm as a pillow to Connie. "I just hope you know that once Maddie hears about this, she's going to start rallying people to stop you. I can just see the posters of "We Love Goldie's Belly!" all around the school."

"Well, I think we'd all be part of that fan club, wouldn't we?" A voice said.

Averman chuckled, still basking in the warm feel of the sun. "You're right on that one, Coach."

There was a pause while all five of the Ducks frowned as they tried to figure out what was wrong with that sentence. Then with a surprised cry of "Coach!", they scrambled up and looked wide eyed at the speaker.

Gordon Bombay looked over at them with a proud smile. "Hey, Ducks."

* * *

After that frightening phone call with this so called Carmen Rivera, Gordon Bombay had done a lot of thinking. He had been so wrapped up in his own busy new life that he had completely forgotten to think about how his team was faring.

He remembered sitting back in his desk chair and wondering how he could have been so stupid. _Of course_, the Ducks were going to run into problems with Wilson.

The guy had tried to push them out of the school before they had even entered it!

And with this phone call…Who _was_ this woman and why did she need an attorney?

She had been irritatingly cryptic in their conversation, only saying that Wilson was in some slight trouble with the law and that it would be helpful if there was an attorney present to help cement her case.

Of course, she hadn't seen fit to explain what kind of "case" they were talking about. She had just appealed to his dedication to the Ducks and offered to pay for his plane fare.

Which he had graciously declined. He had more than enough money to pay for his expenses now, thank you very much.

So there he was, back at his old alma mater, and looking at the odd spectacle that some of his kids were making. He was willing to bet that lying smack down in the middle of the parking lot to sunbathe was Charlie's idea. And being the same rowdy bunch of kids they always had been, they had all followed suit.

Walking closer, he had heard the tail end of the conversation where Charlie had mumbled something about loving Goldberg's belly.

"Well, I think we'd all be part of that fan club wouldn't we?" He slipped into the conversation.

Averman smiled that familiar dreamily content smile with a ridiculously oversized pair of sunglasses perched on his nose. "You're right on that one, Coach."

Bombay waited as comprehension dawned on their young faces like a sunrise.

"Hey, Ducks."

* * *

Charlie Conway was having a very trying day.

He had been woken up at seven in the morning by an extremely distraught phone from his extremely pregnant mother about when he was coming home and how he was feeling after Friday's game. He had tried to explain to her with no avail that he was fine but calling a sleeping teenage boy at seven on a Sunday morning was most definitely _not_ fine.

Casey Conway, hormones overflowing and in the bloom of pregnancy, had not appreciated his cold, hard logic. She was extremely emotional these days and she liked to have her baby boy in perfect condition. So it was such that she hung up the phone on a half asleep Charlie in tears.

Staring at his cell phone, Charlie finally shook his head and decided to go back to sleep, reminding himself to tell Banksie to deal with the situation later on in the day. However when he was almost asleep, he was awakened for the second time by various shouts coming from the girls' suite next door. He and the other boys proceeded to eavesdrop and hence gleaned that Carmen and Maddie had taken a little joyride the previous evening and had narrowly escaped death by means of a shotgun.

He really didn't see what the big deal was. They were alive, weren't they?

Then, he had tried to see his girlfriend for some quality time in which there may or may not have been some fun in the sheets, situation permitting. After all, it had been at least a three weeks since Connie and he had been able to…you know.

Sex was therapeutic, he decided. And after that severe and humiliating thrashing the Ducks had received from the Ridgewood Ravens, he needed a _lot_ of therapy.

But nooooo. Carmen was more irritable today than usual and had effectively barred all access to his girlfriend.

He had cheered up when Luis suggested that they go outside to soak up some sun.

That was short lived because they found there wasn't a foot near the lake that wasn't occupied.

And then after reclining on _gravel_, Charlie had found out that some of his closest friends, his _brothers_, if you will, had closet insecurities about their physical _image_.

Oh and did he mention that his old coach who he hadn't been able to speak to for about six months was standing above him?

By this point, Charlie was convinced that he was still sleeping and had actually never woken up that day.

* * *

Rolling her eyes, Connie Moreau looked over at her idiotic boyfriend who was mumbling something along the lines of being in a dream. She reached over and pinched him hard before clambering to her feet and throwing herself into the waiting arms of her beloved coach.

There was a general babble of talk as the other members in her party followed suit. When the hugging had finally subsided, Averman asked the obvious question.

"Um, Coach? Not that we're not glad to see you or anything…but why are you here?"

The smile slid from Bombay's face as he immediately sobered. "Wilson."

"How the hell did you find out?" Luis groaned, looking flabbergasted.

Charlie, likewise, looked chagrined. "You flew all the here because of Wilson? Listen, Coach, it's being taken care of. We're all fine, a little banged up, but fine."

It was Bombay's turn to look surprised and not a little angry. "_A little banged up_? What _are_ you talking about, Charlie? I came out here because some lady called me, saying she needed an attorney to help out in a case concerning Wilson."

"…oh."

"Who was this lady?" Connie interjected, frowning slightly and effectively stopping more prying questions from her old coach's mouth.

It was Bombay's turn to frown. "Someone named Carmen Rivera. Do you know who she is?"

There was a general start while everyone processed that startling new information. Connie felt a whole wave of tension leaving her body as she smiled up at Bombay. "So you're the attorney she was talking about. She was expecting you on Tuesday."

"You know her?" Bombay asked, some of the uneasiness he felt surrounding the case lessening. "What is she? A teacher? A teaching assistant, maybe?"

Goldberg grinned. "Ah but Coach. She is the great Carmen Rivera. There are no words to explain her."

"Except that I'd hit that." Luis added, snickering.

"Here, let me." Charlie soothed a furious Connie. Turning to look at a leering Luis, he promptly pinched him. "You're a pig."

"Thank you, Charlie." She murmured primly. Grabbing her coach's arm, she started to lead him toward the dormitories. "Come on, everyone's back at the dorms. You can see them and then Carmen should be there, she lives with me. And she's the best one to explain everything. She has a rather clear way with words. Boys, do clean everything up."

The boys were able to catch Bombay's screech of "She's a kid!" before he was carted off.

* * *

There was a lot of controversy surrounding Carmen Elizabeth Rivera. A _lot_ of controversy.

Since the minute she had stepped into Eden Hall, she had made her presence known. It wasn't that she was loud or social. In fact, she was quite the opposite. Everything about her screamed quiet efficiency and reservation and the only times she was known to lose her cool was when Dylan Howard had become too much of an annoyance.

No, it was the sheer intensity of her personality that made her known. The oddly golden color of her eyes that burned with an inner fire combined with her above average perception and intelligence were too much for some. Because one always felt that they were being measured in Carmen's eyes.

It was from there all the controversy emerged.

Many agreed that Carmen was one of the most capable people they had ever met. They had no doubts about her intelligence or her integrity as a person.

Many of the male population and probably a few of the female population would have liked nothing more to have Carmen in their beds for one night.

Some said that if there would ever be a female president, Carmen would be a candidate.

Some also called her a cold hearted bitch.

Most agreed that Carmen was movie star beautiful, her Puerto Rican heritage lending a slightly exotic golden glow to the classic fine boned features she had inherited from her Norwegian mother.

Most also agreed that she could get rather irritable very quickly. She had a rather corrosive personality.

However, all agreed that Carmen was one of the most unapproachable people they had ever met. The fact that Carmen close to never showed human emotions except irritation and anger, unnerved people plenty. There was even small speculation in the science fiction fanatics of Eden Hall that Carmen Rivera was secretly a robot sent by aliens from outer space to monitor the high school life of humans.

She was average in height, between five feet four inches and five feet five and yet managed to silence the whole auditorium in under a minute. She was intimidation, at its best.

Which was why she had never been on a date. She did not "hook up" with anybody and the few cocky individuals who were brave enough to risk the wrath of a territorial Dylan Howard, were met with a few choice words.

Namely, "Get the fuck out of my way."

She never wasted time, she was always busy, she picked her friends wisely – it was always surprising to all that the airy and cheerful Madison Kim and she were best friends – and did not dally in meaningless drabble that was the basis of a teenager's life.

Which were all reasons why Dylan Howard was intrigued.

_Why isn't she normal?_ He mused silently, as he looked at a newspaper photo of Carmen and himself last year when they had worked together in the student government.

Dylan had started his interaction with the feminine kind early on in his life. His close relationship with his older sister had exposed him to females since he was born. That was how he had started ballet, for Christ's sake. His sister had wanted to do ballet and he had wanted to play hockey so his mother had signed them up for both.

Funny how life worked out, wasn't it?

He had thought that hockey was barbaric and stuck with ballet. His sister had an unhealthy overdose of testosterone in her system and become bored with ballet after the first three rehearsals. She had then gone on to become one of the best players on the Hawks.

In a last ditch effort to save his masculinity, his father had proceeded to sign him up for soccer, which Dylan found he surprisingly enjoyed. Being surrounded by boys his own age was a nice change from home where Christina always insisted on experimenting on his hair before doing it to herself.

It had turned out that one of the boys who had been on the Hawks with Dylan, was also on the soccer team. The two quickly became close friends, which lasted throughout the years.

They were both attractive, they were both athletic, they were both wealthy, and they were both intelligent. So again, Dylan used his knowledge of the female mind to place him and his best friend in the most sought after category of the school. They thought their friendship would remain as strong in high school as it had been during their middle school years.

And it was. At least at the beginning of freshman year.

But then, Dylan met his soul mate, who came disguised in the form of a slender, Korean girl from New York City. And that had led to the meeting of Carmen Rivera, who had knocked all thoughts of other girls from his head and occupied most of his brain for the better part of two years. And then that had led to the Ducks, who Dylan could not imagine life without.

And what had happened to his best friend?

Well, Jake Riley still stuck with the old crowd of prominent, wealthy families that comprised much of Eden Hall. He was still off living the life of the socially elite, who had their choice in _everything_. Only this time it was without Dylan.

Having been kicked off the hockey team because of the Ducks, he still harbored a slight resentment of them and pretty much, all scholarship students. It had actually strained the friendship between Dylan and Jake because of the fact that Maddie was a scholarship student herself, and of course, you couldn't have the Howard without the Kim.

But luckily after only spending a day with her, Jake, too, had fallen under the dancer's spell and had added himself to that long list of those who would be willing to give a kidney to the dear girl.

It was too sad that Jake's hospitality only extended to Maddie.

Well, it extended to Carmen too but that was only because he was terrified of her.

Rick Riley's long time resentment of the Ducks had transferred into his little brother's mind. It wasn't just about the fact that they had kicked him out of a spot which he hadn't even been able defend, it was more of the fact that they seemed to be taking something of his every year.

First, it had been about hockey. Jake didn't even care anymore about hockey, it didn't interest him. Soccer was his sport now but it was more the principle of the thing that grated on his nerves.

Then that awful cowboy had quite effectively stolen his fuck buddy from right under his nose. Allie Howard, who had always been around for a little fun, was now smitten with the hick and that had stung as well.

And of course, the Ducks now had Dylan in their clutches. Jake only saw Dylan during soccer season and the easy camaraderie the two shared only made their separation more distinct. So the Ducks had stolen a best friend as well.

Jake Riley's silent feud with the Ducks had grown a lot more personal with time.

_Do I really miss spending time with that crowd?_ Dylan thought, this time looking at a picture of his and Jake's twelve year old selves after a triumphant soccer game. _Isn't that why I'm so obsessed with Carmen? Because she's not like the other girls?_

There was more than that. She was a mystery. And Dylan Howard had always gone after the mysterious girls. It was an irritating habit he had. Always wanting the truth, always wanting to see the bare essence of the person underneath. He didn't like secrets and maybe that was why he obsessed over Carmen so much. No one except Maddie knew the girl underneath the ice façade.

He knew he was being ridiculous, chasing after a girl who genuinely wanted nothing to do with him. But it made him feel _real_, in a way all those hookups with random girls never did.

There was only one doubt that was in the very back corner of his mind. His cousin, Allie, had instigated into his mind in one of their fights and now he couldn't seem to get it out of his head.

"_It's just a game to you, Dylan. Life is a game to you. If you ever manage to get Rivera, you're going to toss her away after the first week. You think I'm shallow, but you're just the same! You're a slut, just like you say I am._" Allie had hissed into his ear during a party last year, her breath slightly smelling of vodka.

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the image.

There was a knock at the door before it swung open and in bounced Maddie.

"What are you doing?" She asked, stopping to look at the lounging Dylan surrounded by pictures.

Dylan gave her a half-hearted smile. "Thinking."

"Well, don't do that, you might hurt yourself." Maddie said lightly, gauging his somber mood immediately. "Bombay came back and so all the Ducks are with him. I came to find you because I was bored."

"Bombay?" He asked, shaking his hair out of his eyes.

"Their old coach." She answered, walking over and sitting down next to him. "Your hair's getting a little long. You should get a haircut."

"I think not."

Maddie made a noncommittal noise.

"Mads?"

"Mmm?"

"Don't leave me alone. I brood too much."

"_You_ told _me_ to leave _you_ alone."

"Well, don't listen to me next time. Besides, didn't you think it was kind of weird for me to say that?"

"I figured you wanted some quality time with yourself, which translates to some time where you can jerk off to your pleasure."

There was a slightly disgusted silence where Dylan stared haughtily at Maddie's innocent expression.

"That's sick, in case you didn't know."

She shrugged and looked at him with a twinkle in her dark brown eyes. "Well in case you didn't know, boys _are_ sort of gross."

* * *

Carmen was hard at work when there was a knock on her suite door. "Come in." She said without looking up.

"Hey, Carmen." Ken smiled at her. "I have someone who'd like to see you."

"Ms. Rivera. We finally meet in person." Bombay walked in and extended his hand.

If Carmen was surprised to see him, she hid it rather well. In fact, the only expression she had on her face was one of polite greeting as she shook his hand. "Mr. Bombay…I wasn't expecting you til Tuesday."

"I got the feeling this was an urgent matter and there was more to what you were telling me on the phone. And as the Ducks are my primary investment, I came immediately. I hope you don't mind." Bombay said, easing into an armchair and looking at her speculatively.

"Not at all. We have much to talk about." She answered smoothly. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out an impossibly thick manila folder of papers and brought them over to him. "You're lucky I prepare everything five days in advance."

She turned to the still waiting Ken. "If you would give us some privacy, dear, we'll be out in thirty minutes. Keep everyone out until then."

"As you wish." He said with a smile. He was daring to hope for the future. Surviving the rest of the year suddenly seemed a lot more manageable now that there were two people working on their side.

The day passed in a blur. The suggested thirty minutes had turned into an hour upon which Bombay had emerged, ashen faced and looking racked with guilt. After reconvening with his hockey team, he had confirmed everything that Carmen had told him and looked beyond sick with guilt.

There was nothing else for Carmen to do now except wait. She had delivered Wilson up to Bombay complete with bow and ribbon; it was in his hands now.

So the Ducks waited.

And Carmen started compiling a list of possible replacements for Wilson's job.

* * *

"Carmen? Car? You ok?"

The girl in question gave a strangled noise as an answer without removing her eyes from the newspaper. After another second or two of her eyes moving at an inhuman rate across the paper, she crumpled it shut and scooping her belongings together, all but ran out of the dining hall.

Julie blinked and looked lost at her friend's strange behavior. Then decidedly shrugging it off, reached over and took Carmen's uneaten banana. It was obvious that Maddie and Dylan were rubbing off on her.

"What the hell do you think is wrong with her?" Portman asked, mirroring the thoughts of the whole dining hall as they saw the normally composed Rivera rush out of the room as if she had a bad case of diarrhea.

"I know." Russ yawned. "It's too early in the morning for her to be moving that fast. She didn't even eat all her waffles."

Dwayne smiled at them, almost as if to reassure himself. "I'm sure she had her reasons, y'all."

Adam didn't say anything but frowned slightly over his cereal. There was something going on, something big. Something that Carmen was once again keeping on the down low. Looking up, he caught Dylan's eyes.

Without speaking, those steely grey eyes seemed to express exactly what Adam was thinking. "You feel it, too?" Dylan murmured, barely speaking louder than a whisper.

Adam nodded. He felt it.

* * *

By 9:24 AM, someone had run off copies of that morning's newspaper concerning the actions of an Arthur K. Wilson at the prestigious Eden Hall Academy, and liberally scattered them at strategic locations throughout the school. Three guesses as to who.

By 9:28 AM, the whole school was buzzing. The members of the Varsity hockey team were dumbfounded and had the explanation of a friend's frazzled departure from their table that morning.

By 9:29 AM, rumors were flying left and right. Grinning maniacally, a certain Madison Kim joined in, mentioning that Coach Wilson was actually a woman.

By 9:30 AM, Eden Hall was firmly convinced that not only Wilson a lying scoundrel about his funds, he was lying about his gender as well. Not to be outdone, Dylan Howard slipped that Wilson and Dean Buckley had been having a clandestine affair together while Connie Moreau looked on witheringly.

By 9:31 AM, most of the school believed that Wilson was a lying, actually-a-woman scoundrel who was getting it on with their Dean. Adam Banks had a splitting headache. Dean Portman looked slightly green.

At 9:32 AM that morning, Arthur K. Wilson was arrested on multiple counts of embezzlement and animal cruelty.

At exactly 9:35 AM, as he was escorted out of the school in handcuffs, he locked eyes with a slender, dark blonde girl in a black trench coat. Through the pouring rain, blue eyes clouded with age and confusion met with amber eyes that were glowing with a fire of their own.

She continued to look at him while he passed with no expression on her face. He was close enough to smell her fragrance that brought to mind visions of the Far East and campfires. Which meant he was definitely close enough to hear her softly spoken words.

"Down came the rain…and washed the spider out."

* * *

Josh Landon looked over at the posh house with tired eyes. The place was absolutely swarming with media, Eden Hall students and general busybodies. The half-crazed dogs weren't helping either.

There must have been at least twenty of them, kept on tight leashes in small cages. Josh felt sick. When he had been appointed president of the upperclassmen, he had not thought he would be dealing with dog fights and the police.

"Terrible situation, isn't it?" Dean Buckley walked over to him in that somber way of his. "I'm sorry this is the first event that had to call for your attention, Mr. Landon."

"So am I, sir." Josh sighed, before his eyes settled on a familiar golden haired figure in a black trench coat. "Rivera!"

The figure turned to look at them from where she had been surveying the house in passive indifference. Walking over, she acknowledged them quietly.

"Ms. Rivera, why do I get the feeling you're more involved in this than is appropriate?" Dean Buckley asked, uncharacteristically bluntly.

The president said nothing. He couldn't help but agree. Rivera occasionally had the bad habit of creating a lot more trouble than was necessary.

Carmen didn't say anything, but continued to look at the sad spectacle of the chained, maltreated canines. Finally she turned to look at the two men, who had accusations stamped all over their faces. "I don't think you have the time to waste pointing fingers, sir. After all, you're going to have to deal with the media. Eden Hall's reputation is hanging on a very thin thread, I doubt future parents are going to want to send their children to a school who hires criminals. In fact, I bet you're going to have to go through a _very_ thorough investigation of your current faculty. And I can definitely assure you that the school board won't be too happy. So go concern yourselves with more pressing matters, gentlemen."

There was a pause as she gazed upon the slack jawed faces of the two persons opposite her. Then surprisingly, Carmen smiled a genuine smile. Actually it was more of a grin. "Good luck."

And with that, she walked away.

_Trust her to delight in other's misery_, Josh thought bitterly as he watched her go.

* * *

Adam knew it had been a mistake to bring Maddie here.

Tears had been streaming down her face in less than ten minutes and he was out of handkerchiefs. And yes, he used handkerchiefs.

Anyway, he had been hard pressed, trying to calm Maddie down and preventing her from looking at the emaciated, bloody state of the dogs as they were dragged down the driveway towards the waiting vans. Dylan and Charlie, of course, had disappeared and were nowhere to be found.

_Bastards_. Adam thought savagely as he tried to put himself in front of Maddie so she wouldn't have to see the sad procession of half crazed dogs.

But she wasn't having any of it. "Bloody hell, Adam! I've been here before! I know what they look like – Willy!" And with that, her hands rushed to her mouth and she rushed forward.

_Willy? Who the hell is Willy – oh, shit_, Adam thought, gaping at the sheer size of the Rottweiler as it wrestled desperately with its four trainers. He had never seen anything so big or anything so ugly.

"Stop it!" Maddie screamed, about to hurl herself into the fray before Adam caught her around the middle and held her, kicking and screaming.

"Stay out of the way, little girl!" One of the trainers, a grizzled old man who was occupied with the thrashing beast, snarled. "He's a nasty one!"

Maddie immediately stopped _her_ thrashing – of which Adam was extremely grateful – and turned to look at him indignantly, still with wet cheeks from all her crying. "He is not! He just doesn't like you!"

The trainer snorted. "I'd like to see you try, little girl."

"Willy!" Maddie smiled tremulously, walking towards it.

And of course, the beast calmed, looking over to where Maddie was.

_Figures_, Adam thought, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose where he felt a massive headache coming. When he opened his eyes again, he wished he had kept them closed because of the look Maddie was sending his eyes.

"No."

"He's got nowhere else to go."

"You already have a dog. I _really_ doubt that the Eden Hall policy will allow for another one."

"Please. He needs me." There was something about her quiet, desperate plea that went straight to Adam's heart. With his head screaming that it was stupid, his feet nonetheless moved him to where the trainers were wrestling with the dog as it fought to go over to a once again crying Maddie.

He was greeted with a contemptuous snarl from the Rottweiler.

_I'll have you know that I'm saving your pathetic ass_, he sent out furiously to the ungrateful mutt's brain.

The trainer looked at him. "What do you want, sonny boy? I'm a busy man."

"Sir, as that dog's going to the pound…my friend over there has gotten rather…attached…and well…" Adam said, wincing at every lapse in verse. "Anyway, we were wondering if we could…just…have the dog?"

"No." The trainer snapped back promptly. "It's against regulation. I doubt you could handle a mutt like this anyway."

Maddie had come to stand next to Adam and immediately, the Rottweiler settled down, licking Maddie's outstretched hand. "Please, sir. What if I pay you? My daddy's pretty well off."

The trainer stared incredulously at the suddenly docile dog and then at the quiet girl. "This whole place is going to the dogs." He muttered suddenly before snapping his leash off of the dog's collar. "Let him go."

Maddie's whole face lit up as the other trainers snapped their leashes off of him after a moment's hesitation. She opened her mouth to speak but the trainer beat her to it.

"You go to Eden Hall?" He asked, looking at her red sweatshirt where Eden Hall was emblazoned in big white letters. "Well, _one_ phone call of this mutt acting up, and we _will_ be putting him to sleep."

"He won't act up, I promise!" And with that, she impulsively hugged the grizzled old man. "Thank you!" She then turned to bury her face in Adam's chest. "And thank you."

"No problem, Mads." He said, smiling at her fondly. "Let's go find the others."

She beamed. "Okay. Come on, Willy."

Willy got up but turned to stare at the trainers evenly. His eyes sent out a clear message.

_If we were all in the animal kingdom, I wouldn't give an ounce of your chances of surviving an encounter with me._

* * *

Julie Gaffney immediately groaned at the sight of the four legged creature walking between her two friends.

"I'm never leaving her with you again!" She hissed indignantly to a sheepish looking Adam. Turning to a beaming Maddie, she attempted to ask what the hell she was doing with a dog that was more the size of a lion.

And with typical Maddie airiness, she waved the question aside.

By then, the Ducks had assembled and were staring at the Rottweiler who was glaring balefully back at them all. Obviously this dog didn't have Bagel's magnanimous nature.

Dylan, Charlie and Carmen were the last to arrive. The second he caught sight of Willy, Dylan turned to Charlie with a grin and said "Pay up. Told you she was taking one of the mongrels home." Grumbling good naturedly, Charlie slapped a ten dollar bill into his outstretched hand.

Carmen wasn't speaking, at the moment.

"Maddie?" She asked, her voice dangerously calm. "You actually took that monster?"

Willy gave a low growl.

"Oh shut up," Carmen snapped, having no patience to deal with a mutt's hurt feelings. "Maddie?"

"I love you, Carmen." Maddie smiled nervously. "He can stay, right?"

The blonde stared at her before turning on her heel and walking towards the buses that would take them back to Eden Hall. "I need straight shots and then sleep. Lots of sleep." She muttered.

"Well that was eventful." Dylan remarked as he fell into step with his best friend. "I kind of miss life when it was boring."

Maddie shrugged. "It's going to be boring by the end of the week. This will all blow over and all we'll have left are SATs and homework."

"Not quite." The boy scowled in remembrance. "You still have your date with Scott Pendleton."

* * *

R&R, please! Have a nice day!

Hi, I'm not dead.

I took some time to explain some of the characters in greater detail. They weren't as developed as I would have liked them to be. I'm planning on doing it to most of them in the following chapters.

I hope everyone is doing well!

* * *

**Joshysgirl:** Hey! They're quite insecure. But it will all work out, I'm sure. Thanks for the review, sweets.

**Firexelement**: Free the doggies is right. I feel you about the laziness. I think this is the first time I've been on since I last posted. Thanks for the review!

**Sphinx005:** How have you been, my dear? That's horrible to hear about your neighborhood's problem. It's been happening in my neighborhood as well. Argh, what's wrong with the world? Thanks for taking the time to review.

**Babybee13:** Thanks for your review! It means a lot!

**Flowersc781**: I did get your message and it made my day. Seriously, it's stuff like that keeps writers writing. Thank you so much for your praise and I put in some Adam/Maddie interaction just for you.


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks. I wish I did because my life is so much more boring than theirs._

– _Chapter Six –_

* * *

The inhabitants of Corrigan Hall, one of the residence buildings for Eden Hall's juniors, were learning to live with the new terror of Suite 301.

And no, my dear reader, we're not talking about Carmen Rivera.

We're talking about Rotten Willy, the Rottweiler.

He was big, he was mean, he was smart, and he was big. And he didn't like people. The only person he showed a reserved sort of affection towards was his owner and the only other person he held a grudging respect for was the one individual who shared his perpetual bad temper, i.e. Carmen.

The minute Willy had stalked into the suite, the other canine inhabitant of Maddie's life had come trotting out to inspect the newcomer. Bagel the beagle was a precious, beloved little thing and was used to being coddled by all because of his sweet nature. He had stopped in his tracks as he stared at the massive Rottweiler and cocked his head as if wondering how anything could have gotten so big without hormone pills.

Willy was a dignified sort of dog, originally raised to be used in the military, so he had stood still for inspection, understanding that this tiny beagle was technically his superior.

Apparently he passed, because with a small bark, Bagel had skipped over to question him about living arrangements.

"_Where do you want to sleep? I usually sleep on Maddie's bed, no offense but you're awfully large so I don't know how we're both going to fit, how ever did you get so big in the first place? Are you related to that fat boy human? What's his name again? Goldfish? Goldie? I forget exactly but-_"

"_I'll sleep on the floor._"

"_Isn't that awfully uncomfortable? I overheard the blonde boy human say that it's dreadful for your back. Say, did you meet everyone? You should meet the blonde boy human, he's absolutely wonderful, so are the other girl humans, but don't talk to the scrawny boy human, he's an idiot, do you know he locked me out so he could procreate-_"

"_I have no need for humans."_

"_They are rather silly, aren't they? But they're nice to have around. Especially this lot, they always have something nice-_"

"_They talk a lot._"

"_You're not the talkative type, are you? You can share my bowl if you'd like. There's plenty to go around._"

"_I'll pass._"

And so, the two dogs met and got along. Bagel logically reasoned that if Maddie decided to pay more attention to Willy, it would work out because he, himself, had fifteen other humans that were more than willing to spoil him rotten. Willy almost bit their hands off if they came too close.

"_Rather barbaric of you, don't you think?_" Bagel sniffed after one episode where Willy had successively terrorized Averman witless. It just went to show that people's manners started to rub off on their pets as Bagel had unknowingly adopted Dylan Howard's huffy snootiness.

Willy hadn't even acknowledged that with an answer.

* * *

"Hey! Scott!"

Scott Pendleton turned around to look at Dylan Howard and Dean Portman as they sprinted down the hall towards him. This was a new development. Usually the only people that talked to him were the band kids. Dylan Howard was a general nuisance and the hockey team was comprised of snobby pricks. Albeit muscular, snobby pricks.

Howard reached him, not ruffled at all and gave him a charming smile. To which Scott immediately stiffened.

"Listen, I was just wondering…you know this whole date thing? With Maddie? Well I was thinking…it's not fair to Maddie, you know…since I neglected to inform her about the deal before I brought her into it. And I'm still hoping for her and Logan Spelling to get together…but anyway, uh…could we just call it off? Please?" Dylan asked, all suave and debonair if it hadn't been for the slight tremble in his hands. It was obvious that Dylan didn't want this date happening.

Scott smiled cagily. "I don't think so, Howard. I've got everything figured out. Maddie will have a nice time…trust me."

Dean Portman spoke for the first time and his bass voice was layered with all sorts of threats. "We're not asking-"

"Easy now, Port." Dylan cut him off, looking bent on ending all mentions of bloodshed. He looked at the smug Scott Pendleton and wished, however, he _could_ just sic Portman on him. Dylan wasn't picky. He would be satisfied with demolishing whatever Portman left behind. "Scott, my man. I'll admit it, I wasn't thinking straight. Maddie doesn't deserve this. Come on, don't let _her_ suffer for my mistakes."

The smug smile slid off of Scott's face and was replaced by a rather ugly look as he let Dylan's words sink in. "Suffer? I don't think so. Trust me, Howard. Maddie will be having a _wonderful _time. In fact if all goes to plan, she'll be probably be having a wonderful _night_ too. All in all, I think we're a great match. Who knows what the future holds for us?"

_Fuck diplomacy_. Portman thought as his face morphed into one of rage. With a guttural growl, Portman lunged for the smaller boy's throat, all the while spewing curses. "You're a sick bastard! You're fucking _insane_! You even go _near_ her and I'll kill you! Did you hear me? I'll fucking _kill_ you!"

Dwayne Robertson materialized from nowhere and helped Dylan restrain the furious Bash Brother. Nodding to Dylan's unspoken words to get him out of the vicinity, Dwayne struggled with the bigger enforcer down the hallway. The echoes of Portman's curses rang down the corridor as the whole school seemed to gather to watch the power play between Dylan and Scott. Dylan turned to face the other drummer with eyes the color of molten steel.

"I can count on one hand the things in this world I would die for and your new _obsession-_" He spat the word, "happens to be one of them. What makes you even think that Maddie's gonna show up?"

Even in light of the recent attempt upon his life, Scott still had a sense of smug superiority about him. Looking quite seriously up at him – "_At least I'm taller than him…by an inch_" Dylan thought scornfully – Scott said softly, "Why, because of your integrity as a person, Mr. Howard. It's the defining characteristic of your lot. You made a deal and you're gonna stick by it even if it kills you."

There was a pause while Dylan fought to get his sizable temper under control. These last few weeks had been extremely stressful and he was near his breaking point. It wouldn't do at all to let it loose while there were teachers afoot. "You're right. You will have your date. But let me set some ground rules."

"Ground rules?" Scott asked, looking amused.

"_Shut up_." Dylan snarled before he could help it. Collecting himself, he continued. "Rule number 1. I've noticed that your pants are falling off your hips. If you show up to Maddie's door in said fashion, I will rectify the problem by stapling your pants securely to your waist. You must realize that this is necessary…as a precaution in case your pants _do_ come off during the course of your evening."

Smirking slightly at the look of disbelief on Pendleton's face, Dylan finished up. "There are others, of course. Boy, oh boy, are there others but as of right now, that's the only one you need to know. I will compile a list of the remaining ones to present to you when you pick us up this Friday night at 7."

Scott's eyes bulged out of his head. "_Us?!_"

Dylan looked innocently wicked. "Oh did I forget to mention? I'm chaperoning. Don't forget, seven on Friday." And with that, he left a sputtering Scott and walked away.

Did the fool actually think he could pull a fast one on Dylan Howard?

Bitch, please.

* * *

"What's _he_ on about?" Julie asked as she gazed at the red faced Portman who was animatedly talking to a raptly listening Fulton. The two were sitting smack in the middle of the library and ignoring the pointed glares of students who were trying to study.

"Hmmm?" Dwayne asked, looking up bemusedly from his physics notes. "What was that, Jules?"

"What are they on about?" Julie repeated, this time staring at an equally furious Fulton.

Dwayne paled. "Oh gosh darn it. Where did _he _come from?"

"Dwayne!" Julie had had enough. "_What_ is going on?"

One look into her icy blue eyes was enough to get Dwayne to spill the morning's events. In the course of his explaining about the said lunacy of Scott Pendleton, Julie stopped him, her voice deceptively calm. "Am I to understand that Dylan pretty much used Maddie as a _bargaining_ tool?"

Dwayne clamped his mouth shut as he realized his mistake. "You-you didn't know, did you?" he whispered. None of the girls did. The boys had made sure of that.

Julie's eyes were cold enough to freeze anyone in their tracks. "I do now, Dwayne. If you'll excuse me."

* * *

"…_This is Dylan Howard. If you're deluded enough to think I care about what you have to say, leave one. _BEEP!"

"_...Dylan! This is Dwayne. I might've accidentally let slip to Julie about the whole mess with Maddie and Scott! She's madder than a rabid coyote so be on the lookout!..._"

* * *

"…_This is Dylan Howard. If you're deluded enough to think I care about what you have to say, leave one_. BEEP!"

"…_It's Julie. Let's have a nice chat tonight, shall we? Come by the suite around eight-ish. Oh and you don't have a choice about it either, dear…_"

* * *

"…_This is Dylan Howard. If you're deluded enough to think I care about what you have to say, leave one._ BEEP!"

"…_Dylan, sweetheart, it's Connie. I just had a very interesting conversation with Julie. I'm glad we can talk about this later. And just so you know, we're going to hunt you down so you better damn well show up!…_"

* * *

"…_Hey, this is Charlie. Keep it short, keep it sweet, just how I like my women…Ow! Connie, I was complimenting you!_ BEEP!"

"…_Charlie! It's Dylan. The girls are out for my blood. What the hell am I supposed to do?…_"

* * *

"…_You've reached Adam Banks. Leave a message and I'll call you back when possible. _BEEP!"

"…_Hey, Banksie boy! The girls found out about the date. Some shit's going down tonight, haha! Care to take a wager?_..."

* * *

"…_Hey, this is Charlie. Keep it short, keep it sweet, just how I like my women…Ow! Connie, I was complimenting you! _BEEP!"

"…_It's Adam. Number one, you're a crass piece of shit. Number two, what date?…_"

* * *

"…_You've reached Greg Goldberg. Unless you're from Patty's Pizzeria, telling me you have my order of an extra large pepperoni downstairs by the front desk, I really don't care._ BEEP!"

"…_Goldie, it's Charlie. Uh…was Adam not supposed to know about the date? Cause I might've accidentally mentioned it to him…_"

* * *

"…_It's Luis Mendoza. If you're the charming young lady I, for some reason, gave my number to last night, please don't take it personally if I don't call you back. I have much love to spread, after all, and only two years to do it. _BEEP!"

"…_Yeah, this is Goldberg. Spazway's done it again. He told Banksie. Enough said…_"

* * *

"…_Hey, this is Charlie. Keep it short, keep it sweet, just how I like my women…Ow!Connie, I was complimenting you!_ BEEP!"

"…_It's Banks. Averman just filled me in on what's going on. Wager? I'll wager that if ANY of you place wagers, I'll do something about it. I'm big enough to make it happen…_"

* * *

Carmen Rivera was feeling petulant. And she didn't like it.

She _never_ felt petulant. Irritated, yes. Angry, yes. Pissed beyond belief, sure. But petulant? Never.

Petulant was limited to those weak brained idiots like Conway and Howard. Not her. She was too intimidating to be feeling any sort of pre-tantrum emotions. She was the epitome of the quintessential bully for crying out loud!

But it seemed as if all the Ducks were whispering about something she knew nothing about. And as it was usually _she _who knew everything while the Ducks didn't, it was extremely off-putting. Maybe she was just having an off day.

What on _Earth_ were they all on their cell phones for?

After putting up with the nonsense for two more periods, Carmen finally had had enough. Noticing that Connie and Julie were nowhere to be found, she took the next best thing.

"Banks!" She called, stomping over to him. "What the hell is going on? Why's everyone on their cell phones and why are Fulton and Portman looking like they want to bash someone's head in? Speaking of which, why are _you_ looking so grumpy?"

Adam turned around to look at her. "You mean you don't know?"

"Yes, of course, I know!" She hissed sarcastically before stomping her foot in mounting anger. Oh, she was definitely petulant now. "No, I _don't _know so kindly tell me what's going on!"

So Adam did.

And finally, did Carmen's petulance leave her. On its way out, it ran into the new emotion which was coming in.

Hello, blind rage. How are you?

* * *

"…_This is Dylan Howard. If you're deluded enough to think I care about what you have to say, leave one. _BEEP!"

"…_It's Rivera. I just talked with Banks. Let me just tell you right now that you're a dead man. I'm going to rip you to shreds, then I'm going to sew you back together so I can do it again…make no mistake about it…_"

* * *

"…_This is Dylan Howard. If you're deluded enough to think I care about what you have to say, leave one. _BEEP!"

"…_It's Adam. I'm planning on cleaning up anything Carmen misses so be warned. Women are NOT objects, you ass…_"

* * *

"…_Hey, this is Charlie. Keep it short, keep it sweet, just how I like my women…Ow! Connie, I was complimenting you!_ BEEP!"

"…_Dylan here. You're the one that told Banks, weren't you! He told Carmen! I'm fucking dead! You little snitch!…_"

* * *

"…_You've reached Adam Banks. Leave a message and I'll call you back when possible_. BEEP!"

"…_It's Charlie. SNITCH SQUARED INFINITY! You told CARMEN? She's going to KILL him! You're a murderer!…_"

* * *

"…_Hey, it's Emily Parker. Leave a message and I might call you back._ BEEP!"

"…_Emmy, baby! It's Tricia. You would not GUESS what I just heard. Madison Kim is going on a date with Scott Pendleton! You know, that drummer in the band. Anyway, I say we go crash their lovefest, you up for it? Call me later, babe, I've got a calc test right now!…_"

* * *

And so all in all, it was an extremely power charged day. The Ducks had never used their cell phones so much in such a short amount of time and it was a wonder that they weren't confiscated.

This whole drama with Scott Pendleton had turned into a fiasco.

Dylan Howard hated himself sometimes.

* * *

"Yo, Charlie!" Guy Germaine yelled, winded from their grueling practice. "We done yet?"

Charlie skated to a stop, sweat beading on his brow. "Alright, take a knee!"

Panting, the Ducks skated to a stop and looked at their captain. All their current troubles concerning a certain Madison Kim and her new beau were forgotten as they faced an even more troubling reality. The issue of their non existent coach.

Wilson being arrested had been anticipated and even welcomed. But the Ducks realized that, hockey-wise, they were still in the same rut. They had no coach and no direction. Charlie had been doing his best to fill in, using the general training outline that Coach Bombay had left behind and enlisting Adam's help in creating a workout regimen. The Ducks were disqualified for the moment but God help him, they were going to be the fittest disqualified team in the state.

But as of right now, they were the most tired. The drills that Charlie had made them go through were thoroughly exhausting and the only person who looked ready for more was the creator of said drills. "_But then again, Adam has always been a freak_." Charlie thought wearily.

"Well?" Averman asked, breathing heavily. "Is that it for today?"

"I guess." Charlie answered. "Same time tomorrow, guys. We have to keep in shape."

"Hold up, guys." Fulton spoke as everyone started to skate towards the exit. "What are we going to do about our coach situation? We can't play if we don't have a coach! And we have a game scheduled against Blake next week!"

"What did Dean Buckley say?" Ken Wu asked, his dark eyes thoughtful.

Charlie sighed. "He's looking over the list of potential coaches that Carmen gave him but he's still not sure if we can get one. After all, we're already a month and a half into the season."

There was silence as all the Ducks contemplated the possibilities of the current season. None of them could believe that they were effectively benched. Not even given a chance to make up for the disaster against Ridgewood but condemned to their fate.

"Ok!" Russ Tyler barked. "Too much depression! Happy thoughts! Things will work out, they always do."

Connie grinned in spite of herself. "They do, don't they? It's like we're in some sort of Disney movie."

"I hate Disney movies." Portman muttered to Julie as everyone skated towards the changing rooms. "They're fucking creepy as hell."

Julie turned to look at him with a sly grin. "You started crying when you saw Mickey Mouse at Disney World, didn't you?"

Portman's mouth set in a tight line and he stomped towards his locker with Julie's peal of laughter ringing behind him.

* * *

**To:** My best friend

**From:** Your best friend

**Re:** Your other best friend and your pet Neanderthal

Maddie dearest, you do love me, don't you? You wouldn't want me dead, would you?

The thing is…Banks and Rivera are out for my blood. Contrary to popular belief, I am not gay and I'd rather not have Banks' hands _anywhere_ near my body. As for Rivera, I have no problem with her touching me except for the fact that she wants to sever my extremities slowly and painfully. I'm sure you can see where the problem lies.

Oh and there's the slight problem where your lovely suite mates will probably rejoice in said bloodshed. They're quite angry with me.

The bottom line, dearest, is that I'm quite scared for my life and I need to be alive to properly terrorize Pendle-_weighs-a-_ton an inch away from death.

Call off your guard dogs or you'll only have Emily Parker for company at rehearsal this year.

Your trusted, beloved, much missed if dead, brother in all but birth, too handsome to die, soul mate,

Dylan Howard

P.S. I have no shame when it comes to my precious life. So sue me.

* * *

**To:** C.Rivera; A.Banks; C.Moreau; J.Gaffney

**From:** M.Kim

**Re:** The blond bitch

He's sorry.

You can yell at him if you want but Willy wants him alive. He needs a new chew toy, he demolished the old one.

Love,

The inanimate object that's used for barter

* * *

"…_This is Dylan Howard. If you're deluded enough to think I care about what you have to say, leave one. _BEEP!"

"…_You'll only have Emily Parker for company? That's a low blow, you ass. I told them to leave you alone. They probably won't listen but I did my best…_"

* * *

"…_Hi! It's Maddie and I can't come to the phone right now because…well I probably can't find it…but once I do, I'll call you right back! _BEEP!"

"…_You're a goddess and I love you. And don't worry, I'm going to fix this whole mess! And let's learn how to river dance for this year's audition, I was going to suggest you do belly dancing but you don't have much of a belly…or hips…or breasts for that matter…but I'm sure you can manage Irish step dancing!…_"

* * *

**To:** C.Rivera; A.Banks; C.Moreau; J.Gaffney

**From:** M.Kim

**Re:** Re: The blond bitch

I retract my request of peace.

Maim him.

Love,

The enraged Asian

* * *

There was a lot of tension in Suite 301 that night as the girls circled Dylan Howard in a predatory fashion. Willy, sensing bloodshed, sat alertly on the edge of the circle, watching eagerly.

Next door, the male members of the Mighty Ducks of Eden Hall were pressed to the wall in order to hear what was going on. And whether or not they needed to barge in on a rescue mission. After all, they were rather fond of the insufferable soccer player. He was one of them.

"So that's it." Dylan finished lamely as he finished telling his apologetic story. "I was more considered in saving Maddie from humiliation than about her appeal as a human being."

"Oh shut up, Howard!" Connie snapped, as she glared at him. "You're quite the biggest idiot I know."

Dylan gave her his most charming smile. "But you love me."

"Yes. We do love you." Julie sighed, looking resignedly at him. "But you are rather thick."

"We can't all be perfect." Dylan shrugged, before looking apprehensively at a stony Carmen. "Well, love? Am I released?"

"You're a dick." With that, she pushed herself off her armchair and stalked towards the door, only stopping to grab her coat. Ignoring Julie's calls of concern, she slammed the door shut on her way out.

"Love you too, babe." Dylan said with a sigh, running a hand tiredly over his eyes. He then turned to look at Maddie who was curled up on the couch with Bagel cradled in her arms. With a jerk of his head indicating he wanted privacy, Dylan moved towards his friend.

Slipping into the seat next to her quietly, he ignored the warning growl that Willy gave him. Instinctively, Maddie's head leaned back to rest on his shoulder as she moved around so she could get more comfortable. She hadn't said a word throughout his whole interrogation and he could tell that the situation he had stupidly placed her in was upsetting her a lot more than she was leading on.

"I wish you would've thought of how I would feel before you offered me up." Maddie whispered finally.

"I know, I know." He mumbled, his arm tightening around her. "I just didn't want you to look like an idiot in front of all those people. Maddie, I really am sorry. I never meant for this-"

Maddie quite suddenly turned around and hugged him fiercely, dropping a dozing Bagel to the ground. Taken aback by this abrupt display of affection, Dylan returned the hug and realized his dry clean only blazer was being thoroughly soaked by the tears of his best friend. _The things I put up with._ He thought resignedly before turning his full attention to the weeping girl.

"I'm sorry." Maddie hiccupped. "I've been awfully emotional lately. I have no idea why."

"Are you on the rag?" Dylan asked bluntly, holding her out at arm's length as if he was planning to inspect her.

"Maybe. I'm not regular so it's a possibility." She answered without a hint of embarrassment. She smiled tremulously, wiping her eyes. "Why are you so grouchy lately?"

Dylan bit his tongue, as if wondering whether to tell her. "Nothing."

And of course, with that answer, the waterworks started again.

"Ok, ok! Just stop crying, sweets." Dylan surrendered, holding up his arms. "Christina was supposed to come home for fall break but she's not. There."

Maddie sniffled. "How come?"

"God only knows. It's bad enough her boyfriend is a total sleaze." Dylan huffed moodily. "I would think that she'd like to see her brother who is going through high school drama at its best. I mean, what kind of mentorship is that? Not to mention, I wanna ask her about this mess I've gotten you into."

There was a brief silence where both pondered their own problems.

"It's just one night, Dylan. It'll be fine. I'm sure it will be."

Dylan snorted disdainfully. "One night? Oh hell no. It'll be three hours at most. And I'm chaperoning."

"How'd you get him to agree to that?"

"He's following some of my rules."

"Ah. Do you yourself know the rules?"

"…No. But I'll know them by Friday. He's picking us up at 7."

"I see. Is he wearing what he usually wears?"

"I told him if his pants were hanging off his ass like they usually are, I would personally staple them to his waist."

"Ouch."

"I'll have the rest ready for him on Friday. By the way, which one of the boys do you think I should bring with me?"

"Ever heard of girls?"

"Julie and Connie are still rather pissy at me. And Carmen probably wants my balls off."

"It'll be fine. It's not like he's the most ugly guy in the world. He's kind of attractive…in a dirty sort of way."

Dylan stared at her in shock. "Maddie, please! Have some class! The guy has a lip ring and he needs a haircut! Not to mention a shower."

"…"

"_My_ hair is not in need of a haircut! It's in sophisticated disarray. His conditioner deprived hair, on the other hand, is just a rat's nest. Kind of like yours when you first wake up in the morning."

* * *

The male Ducks hastily scrambled away from the wall as the door to Suite 303 suddenly burst open. Carmen Rivera stood in the doorway and she looked _furious_.

Averman was the first to speak. "Everything go ok?"

She fixed him a glare so pointed he immediately quailed. Looking around at the guilty looking occupants, she frowned. "Banks. Where is he?"

"Easy, Car. You're scaring them." Connie chided softly as she walked into the suite.

Carmen's grunt sounded suspiciously satisfied. "Banks! Get your scrawny, pampered ass out here!" She yelled, stomping her foot down. She had obviously not been having a good day if she was resorting to these childish tactics.

Adam walked out of his bedroom, eyebrow raised. "I thought I heard your dulcet tones. Can I help you?"

"Don't get smart, Banks. Grab a jacket, we're taking a walk." She snarled.

Adam sighed, grabbing a jacket while keeping step with the much smaller girl. She really was much prettier when her face wasn't twisted into a grimace, he decided. He was intelligent enough to keep the remark to himself however. Even the dumbest of animals knew how to survive.

There was a collective sigh of relief when Carmen left the room with an obedient Adam in tow. Connie looked at them, amused, before walking into Charlie's room. "She really is harmless, you know." She called over her shoulder.

"So is a rattlesnake." Dwayne muttered darkly as Ken nodded in agreement.

* * *

_Dear God, please pull the stick out of Carmen Rivera's ass,_ Charlie thought sarcastically as he watched the girl in subject stalk down the hallway, jerking her black trench coat on. That girl could get madder faster than anyone he'd ever met. And that was saying something. But then again, he had her to thank for getting rid of his roommate and bringing his lovely girlfriend into the now empty room.

His day suddenly got a lot brighter.

"Connieeee." Charlie sang, locking the door with a flourish. He whipped around, facing the intoxicating brunette who was currently…absorbed in a magazine. Willing himself not to throw a tantrum, Charlie calmly walked over and took it out of her hands.

And then promptly proceeded to tear it into pieces, throw the remains on the floor and stomp on them thoroughly.

"Charlie!" Connie exclaimed, her eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

Charlie got down on his knees, almost trembling with a mix of hope and desperation. She just had to understand. "Cons, I haven't gotten laid in close to a month. The thing is…we're still dating! And I haven't received the perks!"

He hated how whiny he was sounding but he figured he would brood about his lack of manly control later.

Enveloping her small hands in his much larger ones, Charlie gazed into Connie's eyes and relayed all the love and pleading in his body into his stare. Connie stared back at him, looking quite at a loss for words until she suddenly smiled. And promptly proceeded to laugh.

And laugh.

And laugh.

Charlie sat back, looking quite affronted. His dear, compassionate girlfriend was _laughing_ at his state of misery! It was that damn Rivera's influence! She had turned his sweet girl into a maneater!

"Well, I guess that's all there is to it then." He snapped, feeling quite sulky. Crossing his arms and scowling grumpily, he collapsed onto his bed, turning to face the wall as he did so. There was no point in life, he decided.

There was the sound of a door unlocking and opening. And immediately afterwards, closing and locking which was followed by a pair of wet lips behind his ear.

"I placed a tie on the handle, just in case Banks comes back before we're done." Connie murmured. "That is, _if_ we're done tonight."

Charlie beamed and turned over, kissing his _dear, dear, dear_ girl exuberantly.

* * *

"Why are we here?" Adam asked, looking at the suite door in distaste.

Carmen looked up from a slip of paper she held in her hand. "Suite 208 of Burlington Hall. Good, he wasn't lying."

"Who?" Adam asked exasperatedly, still looking at the plaque where the inhabitants of the suite were listed. Scott Pendleton's disgusting name was boring a hole into his eyes.

"Some kid in the band." Carmen said flippantly before turning to glare at him. "You just stand there and look intimidating. I'm the one who talks. Got it?"

Adam felt that was distinctly unfair, especially as she had dragged _him _along. And now she was telling him that he couldn't do anything except breathe. "I can't break _anything_?"

"Maybe his neck, if he pisses me off enough." Carmen muttered under her breath before raising her hand and rapping hard on the door.

There was a thirty second pause while the two waited for the door to open and for Carmen that was thirty seconds too long. She watched the door open and found herself face to face with a bespectacled shrimp of a boy, who looked pleasantly terrified to have Carmen Rivera in full ice cold glory at his door.

"C-can I h-h-help y-you?" He stammered, his magnified eyes darting back from Carmen to the six foot two boy standing behind her. He was pretty sure that this interaction wasn't going to be pretty.

Carmen crossed her arms and stared at him coolly. "Where's Pendleton?"

"H-he's in h-his room…H-he s-said h-he wasn't t-t-to be disturbed." The poor soul squeaked.

"Well, it just isn't his night now, is it?" Carmen spat, before pushing past him and walking into the suite.

"She's a little out of sorts tonight. Just stay out of her way and you'll be alright." Adam murmured to the trembling boy before following his fearless leader into the bedroom at his right.

"Well, well. Let me guess, Howard failed so he sent his little minions to do the job?" A dark haired boy sneered, leaning back in his chair.

Carmen hated him immediately.

"First off, Howard fails at life so this particular defeat isn't very monumental. Second, _no one_ sends _me _anywhere. Third, we're going to talk." She growled, matching his sneer perfectly. Amber eyes locked with dark blue in a fierce glaring match.

"Well, Carmen, your reputation precedes you." Scott drawled, breaking off eye contact first to flick over to the grim looking hockey player. "Banks. You came too? Well, as honored as I am by your illustrious presences, I'm rather busy tonight so if you'll kindly show yourselves out."

"It's Rivera to you. Oh, and get unbusy _now_." Carmen said softly, walking forward. Adam closed the door and stood in front of it. The brunt of the two's anger stiffened and sat up a bit straighter.

"You think you guys own the school, don't you?" Scott hissed, trying to keep his cool.

Carmen smirked mirthlessly. "My dear, in case you didn't get the memo…I don't _think_…I _know_ I own the school. In more ways than one, mind you."

Scott stared at them stonily. A silver lip ring glinted off the light and set off his perfectly white teeth. His features weren't bad at all, if you got rid of that disgusting hair. Like Dylan's, his hair fell into his eyes, but while Dylan's conveyed a sense of windswept elegance, Scott's was slightly greasy and unkempt.

Adam reached up and surreptitiously felt his hair just to make sure his didn't look like that. It didn't…_his_ was nice and clean.

"What's your itinerary for Friday night?" Carmen asked abruptly. Scott blinked.

"My what?"

"An itinerary. Do you know what one is?" Carmen sneered, sitting down in a chair after thoroughly wiping the surface with a tissue. "I'm not going to stop you from taking Maddie out. That's Dylan's job and I don't do other people's grunt work. But I'm going to make sure you don't fuck up, as it looks like you're prone to doing. If Maddie has to go through this shit, it should damn well be bearable for her."

Scott's mouth dropped open as he gazed at Carmen in shock. His composed demeanor disappeared as it came into contact with the famous Rivera acidity. And to think, she wasn't even warmed up yet.

"Close your mouth, you're not a fish. Fish aren't as greasy as you." Carmen snapped before looking at him impatiently. "What's the matter? Two minutes ago, you were tripping over your feet, trying to make smart remarks. Run out of them, did you?"

He hastily closed his mouth and tried to regain the control of the situation. Or as much of it as he could salvage. "For your information, I made reservations at Morton's, one of _the_ best steakhouses in Minneapolis."

"Well, you're probably going to have to cancel." Carmen murmured, as she whipped out her Blackberry and jotted something down.

Scott bristled. "What? Why?"

"Because Maddie's a vegetarian. She doesn't eat meat anymore." Adam spoke up smugly. "How about Dar Maghreb? It's a Moroccan place downtown. Trendy, clean, cheaper than Morton's, and not to mention, Maddie loves it there."

"Thank you, Banks." Carmen said dryly. She looked over at Scott, who looked at a loss for words. "Well? What do you think? Have you tried Moroccan food?"

Swallowing hard, Scott nodded. "Moroccan sounds…fine." He made it out, hoping it didn't sound too strangled.

"Good." Carmen smiled without any warmth. "Now stand up."

"What?"

"Stand up."

"Why?"

"Your name should have been _Simple_ton." Carmen growled. "Stand up so I can see what I'm working with."

Mutely, Scott stood up. And felt like a complete awkward ass in doing so.

Carmen pursed her lips as she looked him over. Gesturing with her hand, she motioned for him to turn. "Around five ten, I'm guessing. A little scrawny. Horrible posture. The hair needs to go."

"Is that all?" Scott asked sarcastically, straightening slightly. "There's nothing wrong with how I look. I get girls all the time."

"If you want to call those things girls…" Carmen said softly, her eyes narrowing. "What you need is a thorough bath and a haircut. Not to mention, some decent clothes. You're going out with Madison Kim this Friday night, not one of your little whores, you understand? And hence, you _are _going to make some changes."

Taking Scott's silence as an invitation to continue, Carmen moved on. "I'll arrange an appointment with the barber shop down the street for tomorrow around 3. I'll tell them what style to give you and I'll even pay for it. God only knows how it's for the greater good." She said, surveying him with distaste.

"I think this is a violation of my civil rights." Scott growled flatly.

"And what about Maddie? Wasn't this _deal_ a violation of hers?" Carmen asked, her eyes daring him to object.

Adam blinked. "_Touché_" he thought, giving Carmen another point in his mental score chart. She was winning by a landslide.

"Anyway, after you receive this said haircut, you will promptly come back to your dorm room where a book on proper etiquette will be waiting for you. You will read that book and learn from it." Carmen finished, standing up and walking over to his closet.

"Etiquette?" Scott echoed, following her dumbly. "What makes you think I need etiquette?"

Carmen turned to stare at him incredulously before waving a hand at Adam. "Tell him, Banks."

Adam was more than happy to do so. "You didn't get up when Carmen walked in, something you must always do when a girl walks in. Not only that, you were immediately rude to her without giving her a chance to introduce herself. You didn't offer her a seat, you didn't offer to take her coat, and you were _slouching_ the whole time."

"Are you a fag?" Scott demanded, looking at Adam in disbelief.

That did it. In one smooth movement, Adam had seized the collar of Scott's shirt and held him two inches off the ground. "Don't try me, you little piece of shit."

"Easy, Banks." Carmen drawled, not bothering to turn around from the closet. "You can drop him."

Scott fell to the floor in a coughing mess. He stood up and straightened himself up while looking mutinously at the much bigger hockey player. Not that he could do anything to him. Adam was 190 pounds of pure, sleek muscle.

"This looks semi decent. It's as close to clean as we're going to get." Carmen mused, holding up a pair of brand new khakis and a dark blue dress shirt. "Get these dry cleaned and pressed."

"This is fucking ridiculous!" Scott managed to choke out while glaring balefully at the two. "You can't just barge in here and expect me to do everything you want me to!"

Carmen froze and turned to look at him. In two swift strides, she was next to him and matching his angry glare with an even icier one. "You _are_ going to do as I say because you were the idiot who wouldn't let the offer go. Now I'm getting quite sick of your whining so why don't you make yourself useful and take a shower? Be sure to clean all the grime off yourself." She leaned in closer. "You're treading on thin ice, Pendleton. I'm not a very nice person and I assure you that I will make your life a living hell if you piss me off more than you already have."

"Don't forget. Barbershop tomorrow at three. Etiquette book afterwards. Reservations for four at Dar Maghreb. Howard and his date insist on accompanying. Dry clean the clothes and learn how to bathe. No buts, Pendleton. Have a good night, we'll see ourselves out." Carmen said sweetly, as she pushed a still rather angry Adam out of the room.

"If he even looks at her the wrong way, I'll kill him." Adam fumed, as soon as they were out in the hallway. "Who the hell does he think he is? The greasy prick…"

"Adam, you're turning into Portman." Carmen said, looking at him icily. "You are not a barbarian so stop acting like one."

"I am not!" Yes, dear readers, that was a definite pout. Adam Banks was pouting.

"Yes, you are. Have some taste. Physical abuse is for the weak brained."

Adam rolled his eyes as they walked down the path towards their own dorm. He still wanted to fight something but it didn't hinder his manners for he instinctively opened the door for her. "What do you propose I do then?"

Carmen's smile was positively evil. "I prefer psychological torment. It's so much more satisfying to mess with people's minds."

* * *

Julie Gaffney was rather lonely.

She had finished all her homework and was sitting in her bed with absolutely nothing to do. The night was just one of those cold nights that had you feeling completely melancholy and alone.

Scooter.

It were nights like these that got her thinking of her last boyfriend. Almost two years of her life was spent with him and now he wasn't speaking to her at all. And she couldn't tell if she missed him or not.

No, that wasn't true. She did miss him. Why else would she wrap herself in one of his old shirts that still held traces of his scent? She was going mad with confusion and guilt.

Ok, so she hadn't dealt with Scooter very well. Maybe blurting out that she wanted out of the relationship in the middle of his high school prom right in front of the punch bowl wasn't the most tactful thing to do. But the guy was _thick_. How else was she going to do it?

But she still wondered about him. He had been her confidante. The tall, handsome boy that everyone wanted. Who only thought about her. It was an ego boost at the very least.

Julie knew she wasn't _very_ pretty. She was decent. She was just regular. On prom night, she had been gorgeous, yes, but that had taken three hours to create. It wasn't the real her.

Scooter had made her feel beautiful.

And now he was gone and she was left wondering if she would ever feel that beautiful again.

And so, Julie stared into her cup of lukewarm tea and immersed herself into a swirling sea of what ifs and has been's.

* * *

"Do be quiet or you'll wake Willy up. And he gets extremely cranky."

Adam scowled at the insufferable Latino girl as he stood in front of the door to Maddie and Connie's room. He had gotten back to the dorm only to realize that his roommate and sister in all but name were going at it like a pair of bunnies in heat. And as the couch in the living room was occupied by a pile of what looked to be the junior varsity team's new uniforms (conveniently stolen just to create mass irritation), Adam was stuck with no place to sleep except Connie's bed.

And so, he was standing in front of the door, half terrified of what the enormous Rottweiler was going to do to him and half exasperated with the plight of his life.

"Anyway, if he succeeds in demolishing your leg and if you manage to crawl back out here afterwards, you're welcome to sleep on the couch." Carmen continued solicitously, a martini glass in hand.

The girl had stormed back into the room and made herself a Grey Goose martini before she had even taken her coat off. Who would've thought that the straight laced model student had a penchant for alcoholic drinks? Wonders never ceased around Carmen Rivera.

"Aren't you a little too young to be drinking?" Adam snapped waspishly, his hand still on the door knob.

"Blow me, Banks." Carmen growled, throwing back the rest of her drink. "It's been a very trying night and I haven't had a drink in close to a month. It's not like I'm an alcoholic. Anyway, don't wake Maddie up either. The poor dear needs her rest. Night."

"Night."

Adam turned around to face the door. _Here goes nothing,_ he thought, bracing himself and opening the door.

Willy's trained eyes opened as well. Slowly sitting back on his haunches, the monster bared his teeth and let out a low growl of warning.

"Easy now, I helped save you from the pound, remember?" Adam soothed, holding out his hands in peace.

Willy looked positively feral.

Despite his situation, Adam suddenly wondered how Willy would take it when Scott Pendleton showed up on Friday to pick Maddie up. The pictured entertainment was almost worth having the mutt around.

Willy wasn't as distracted. In his mind, there was a boy skulking into his master's room while she was asleep. And Willy hated skulkers. He let out another warning growl, this time louder, just in case the boy hadn't heard him the first time.

To Adam's sweet relief, the growl was loud enough to wake Maddie. Blinking adorably in the light coming from the hall, she sat up in her bed. "Adam? What're you doing here?" She asked, her eyes unfocused and confused.

"Connie and Charlie are in my room. They're…rather…busy. I was going to sleep in Connie's bed until the mutt refused to let me enter." Adam whispered furiously, pointing at the still tense dog.

Maddie smiled sleepily. "Oh. Willy dearest, let Adam through. He's tired. You're a good guard dog, though. Bagel just slept through visitors half the time."

"Where's Bagel? I like _him_." Adam hissed, pulling off his sneakers.

"He's sleeping with Dylan tonight." Maddie murmured, lying back onto her pillow. "Dylan looked like he needed some love."

Adam snorted and reached for the bottom of his shirt when he was stopped once again by a low growl from Willy. Looking over into the dog's deep brown eyes, the message was clear. _You take off that shirt and some shit's going down_.

There was a pause as Adam contemplated what to do. He'd never heard of a _dog_ that was this over protective. Thankfully, Maddie took care of it for him.

"You can take off your shirt if you want. I remember Aaron could never sleep with it on." She mumbled, sounding half asleep.

He looked at her, feeling even more irritated at the mention of her ex boyfriend. "…Thank you…I guess."

He only got a sleepy sigh as a reply.

Shrugging his shirt off, Adam looked balefully at Willy, who had positioned himself fully in view of Connie's bed. Like Adam Banks would try anything remotely sketchy. He almost snorted with the indignity of it all.

* * *

The rest of the week passed in a blur.

People were buzzing about Scott Pendleton and his short, new haircut. He seemed to be washing quite rigorously this week and it showed. Most of the student body was mystified by the sudden change.

Dylan Howard was growing grouchier by the hour. Most of his time was spent writing new and more horrific rules to lie on Scott Pendleton when he came around on Friday night.

Madison Kim, on the other hand, was growing more nervous as Friday came closer and the normally cheerful and gregarious girl had taken to hiding out in her room with Willy guarding the door to make sure she wasn't disturbed.

And to make matters worse, Emily Parker and Tricia Manning had found out about the date and had made reservations at the restaurant as well. To Allie Howard's credit, she had declined their invitation, citing the need to utilize an empty room and her boyfriend. And so, the stress of the big night was heightened by the two harpies in disguise.

The joys of high school students with too much time on their hands are so poignant.

* * *

"Come on, Goldberg."

Goldberg looked up at his instructor with sweat pouring down his face. "You mind knocking it off for a second? I'm trying to catch my breath here!"

"Yeah, Adam. Chill out for a second, man." Averman wheezed.

Adam sighed and regarded the two piles of mush that were collapsed on the floor of the gym. "Guys, we're not even into an hour of the workout."

"An hour?" Goldberg sputtered. "How much are you going to make us do? We've already skated fifty laps around the rink and then you made us lift for God knows how long. What more?"

"A mile on the treadmill and some cardio." Adam answered with a straight face. "This isn't even a lot, you've done harder."

"I feel like I've never even used some of these muscles before." Averman moaned. "Hey, Goldberg, you wanna go for some pizza afterwards?"

"Definitely, buddy." Goldberg said, leaning his head back against the wall. "Banksie, I don't think me and Aves are cut out for this hard labor. Maybe we should call it quits."

Adam stared at them in disbelief. "You're giving up? This easily?"

"We're just thinking…is this really worth all the pain and effort and pain?" Averman soothed.

"Yeah, you're great, Adam, make no mistake about it. It's awful nice of you to offer to help us like that but still. Maybe I was born to be fat. Maddie does love my belly." Goldberg groaned, patting it lovingly.

Speech refused to come out of Adam's mouth. He opened it and then closed it, like a fish out of water. What was he supposed to _do_ with these two?

Thankfully, he didn't need to do much.

As he stood there looking at his two friends, clad in only a wife beater, shorts and sneakers, the door to the gym opened and two ridiculously attractive girls walked in. Adam vaguely remembered them as being in his Latin class last year. Their names were…nope, he had no idea.

But they apparently knew who he was.

"Hey, Adam." One of the girls called to him, giving him a flirtatious smile. The other grinned at him as well, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder.

Adam gave an awkwardly shy smile of acknowledgement and quickly looked back over at Goldberg and Averman who were watching the girls with open mouths. "Alright then, go shower. I guess we're done."

"Like hell we are!" Averman suddenly said, his face becoming the picture of determination. "What's next?"

The much taller boy blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"He's right, Banks." Goldberg sighed, heaving himself to his feet. "We lost focus there for a minute, chap. Did you notice how those girls didn't even look at us? That's going to change…somewhat."

Adam grinned. "Whatever you say, Goldie."

There was a slight hesitation in Averman's voice when he spoke up, however. "Can we go a little easier though? I don't really like the taste of bile in my mouth."

* * *

"Yo, Con-nay!"

Connie Moreau jumped in shock as the door to her suite banged open and Dylan Howard bounced in, wearing a ridiculously charming smile.

"What _is_ it." She ground out as she wiped away some of the coffee she had spilled. It was the afternoon of the dreaded Friday and she was having a cup of coffee to calm her nerves. Dylan Hysterical Howard did _not_ help matters.

"Well…since you ask," Dylan grinned, firmly ensconcing himself into the armchair and taking a swig of Connie's coffee. "Ugh, that tastes like warm dishwater."

"Hey!" She objected, feeling slightly offended. "My aunt sent me that coffee from Istanbul!"

"It really must be from a bull." Dylan grimaced, washing his mouth out with some water. "Anyway, here's the deal. Adam doesn't want to go with me tonight because Emily Parker's gonna be there and he'd rather not be that close to her for the next few years of his life. Portman and Fulton are obviously out of the question because they punch first, ask questions later. Julie doesn't want to go because she's doing something else-"

"Wait, what? Tonight? As in the date?" Connie asked, looking confused.

"Yes, I need to take somebody, remember?" Dylan chided, rolling his eyes at the smaller girl. "Gosh, Connie. Do try to keep up."

"Excuse me-" She started.

Dylan waved it aside. "And so, I asked Charlie but he's going home to visit his mom. However, he suggested I take you so how about it?"

"Charlie…me…you?"

"Connie dear, speak intelligibly. You're not two years old anymore." The blond scolded. "Connie? Connie? Who are you calling? What're you doing? Why are you turning so red? I must say, it's not a very attractive color on you."

* * *

"…_Hey, this is Charlie. Keep it short, keep it sweet, just how I like my women…Ow! Connie, I was complimenting you!_ BEEP!"

"…_Even after this whole thing with Maddie, you offer up your own girlfriend?! Charlie Conway, you and I are going to have a very long discussion on what common decency is!…_"

* * *

Guy Germaine raised an eyebrow as he watched Dylan Howard. In fifteen minutes, the kid had taken a shower and transformed from a grungy high school student that came straight out of gym class to a clean, handsome specimen of a man that looked as if belonged in a magazine.

It really wasn't fair. It took nearly half an hour for Guy to look as good as he did.

"So…how's the date situation going?" Guy drawled, checking his cell phone.

Dylan grunted in annoyance as he buttoned the last collar of his slate grey dress shirt. "Connie told me to shove off. Julie has better things to do apparently, and Carmen…well, let's not talk about what she told me to do."

"So…" Guy questioned as he watched his rommate carefully brush his prized hair in front of the mirror.

"So I asked the first girl who walked by." Dylan snarled, obviously not happy with his choice. "And as I wasn't paying attention to who I was asking before I asked…I got stuck with your shrew of an ex girlfriend!"

There was a pause while Guy processed what his roommate had said.

That thirty second pause of silence was replaced by a raucous peal of laughter.

"Y-you…A-Ali-ci-a…oh dear lord! Hahahaha!" Guy chortled, tears streaming down his face with mirth. "Always…k-knew…she had…a thing…f-for…blonds!"

"Kiss my ass, Germaine!" Dylan scowled, before leaving the room in a huff.

"No need! She'll do that for you!" The hockey player cackled, still in hysterics.

* * *

It was six thirty. Thirty minutes before Scott Pendleton was scheduled to show up at her door.

_Screw it_. Maddie thought, as she slipped away from all the madness that was Suite 301. There were about ten people in there right now and her head was fit to explode. Her nerves couldn't handle this sort of pressure at the moment.

Dylan would have looked really nice if it wasn't for the awful scowl on his face. He had stomped into the suite, with his list of rules in his hands and was currently going over them over and over again, obviously trying to figure out how he could instill the most fear as usual.

And of course, Carmen was brooding as usual next to the window, her face a passive mask of who knows what. Maddie was beginning to think that she needed some serious psychiatric help.

Connie and Julie had been talking quietly in the corner and trying to ignore the chaos that had overtaken their suite. The two had been looking with slight amusement at the Bash Brothers who had stood in Maddie's doorway and made her change every single outfit.

Brought back to reality by a low bark, Maddie turned to see Willy standing outside a janitor's closet. "Thanks, dearest." She breathed, slipping into the closet and clutching Bagel in her arms.

She sat down hard on an upside down bucket and stared resolutely into the calm, protective eyes of her Rottweiler. Bagel gave her a comforting lick on the cheek as she struggled not to cry.

She really _was_ rather emotional lately.

* * *

Dylan Howard shot his head up suddenly. Looking around frantically, he came to a conclusion. "Where the _hell_ is Maggot?"

The room stopped as the inhabitants looked around, realizing that the subject in question was, indeed, not there.

"Dude, she's gone." Fulton breathed, looking extremely put out.

Julie rolled her eyes. "No _shit_, Sherlock."

"Maddie!" Dylan yelled, stomping his foot. "Madison Lola Kim! You come out here right now!"

"She's not here, Dyl." Connie drawled, ignoring her penitent boyfriend completely. "I didn't know Maddie's middle name was Lola."

Portman joined Dylan in calling for Maddie. "Dude…where could she have gone?"

"She's not gone!" Dylan screeched. "She's here! Maddie!"

"Lost her, have you? I'm not surprised. You _are_ rather incompetent." Carmen snickered insincerely, coming out from her room. This was actually turning out to be quite an amusing evening.

* * *

Jake Riley weaved down the hallway, occasionally taking a swig from a canteen he held in his hand. His life, he decided, officially sucked.

It was decidedly unoriginal. How boring these teenagers are with their "My life sucks!" and "God, can't I ever catch a break?". They all think their lives are a big tragedy and boohoo and all that rot.

But, my dear readers, I digress.

Anyway, Jake Riley had had a shit awful week and decided to take an early start on the weekend. Meaning he started pre-gaming immediately after his last class.

Now he was pleasantly buzzed and looking for some solitude where he could brood in peace. Because that was what he was suited out for. He had the dark hair, looks and everything.

He was completely intent on going back to his room when he thought he heard a muffled sob coming from the wall. That was impossible. Walls couldn't make noises.

But there it was again.

He turned his head to peer at the offending violator of his silence. _So it wasn't the wall…it's a door_, he thought bemusedly. And because he was the epitome of an asshole, he opened the door to see who was creating all the blasted sobbing. And if an insult or two about their lack of control was thrown in…well, so much the better.

The door opened to a tearful Madison Kim, sitting on a bucket with what looked to be a beagle in her lap and a humongous Rottweiler growling at him in front her.

The image unfortunately shocked some of the alcohol from his brain.

"Hi, Jake." Maddie smiled tremulously, wiping at her face.

Jake glared at her and took a step into the room. Immediately, Willy rose on his haunches, baring his teeth. "Call off the beast, will you?"

"It's ok, Willy." Maddie sniffled as she set Bagel on the floor. "You're completely plastered, aren't you? It's barely after six thirty!"

"I'm not drunk as I want to be." He grunted, sprawling himself out on the floor next to her. "I told you never to cry, doll face. It makes you all blotchy. Besides, aren't you supposed to be getting ready for a date with Super Dweeb, anyway?"

Maddie wrinkled her nose at the nickname but didn't say anything. It was the only thing Jake called her and she supposed it was his form of endearment. "I just wanted to get away for a little bit. I was kind of upset."

"Because of the date?"

"I guess."

"I could fuck him up for you, if you want."

"No!"

"Cause I could. I could get away with it too, which is the best part."

"I have the whole _hockey _team wanting to hurt him, I don't need more!" Maddie said exasperatedly.

Jake sneered. "Well, they wouldn't get very much done now, would they? What are they gonna do? Quack at him? Maybe the kid _would_ drop dead from sheer _annoyance_. God only knows _I_ want to whenever there's a Duck near _me_."

She crossed her arms and pouted. She didn't need to say anything. The tension between the Ducks and Jake Riley was always a sore subject.

Correctly gauging her sullen silence, Jake rolled his eyes and made his attempt at an apology. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry I'm not more understanding of their retardation."

He didn't think it was possible for someone's lower lip to stick out that far.

"Doll face…" He began before stopping. He had realized he had absolutely nothing to say and so he compromised by taking another swig of his canteen.

Maddie let out another sniffle as she stared at the floor.

Sighing, Jake held out the canteen towards her. "Want some? It's Scotch. I swiped it from my old man's liquor cabinet."

The withering glare he received was a more than enough answer. "Suit yourself." He shrugged. "What's the matter? If this…what was his name again? Todd? Bob?"

"Scott."

"Right on. If the bitch is bothering you this much, why don't you just let me pound his face in? I'm sure he won't be around asking for dates after that."

"Dylan and Portman already tried talking him out of it. He refused then and apparently Carmen and Adam went to see him as well. How he lived through _that_ is a mystery." Maddie mumbled, reaching out for Bagel.

Jake let out an inelegant snort. "Dylan's charm only works on women. Portman hasn't evolved from an ape yet, so naturally he hasn't realized that the sounds coming out of his mouth can actually be used in communication. Banks is a spineless bitch who doesn't know what he wants. And Rivera…one day, the thing that crawled up her ass and died will resurrect itself, come crawling out, and it will be the end of the world as we know it."

She gaped at him, tears forgotten. "You're terrible."

"I was born with it. You haven't even heard me start on the Captain Duck." There was a pause. "Oh buck up, doll face. You look like you're going to a funeral. Here…" He rummaged around in his pockets before he finally found what he was looking for and held it out to the morose girl.

"Thank you." Maddie whispered, taking the offered lollipop and unwrapping it. "Why are you so nasty all the time?"

Jake scowled at her. He hated when she asked him personal questions which for some reason, he always ended up answering.

"I mean." She amended. "You're always nice to me and pretty much always nice to Dylan. Why aren't you nice like that all the time?"

"Cause it takes a shit load out of you?" He groused, wanting very much to change the subject. "Besides I can't _not_ be nice to you, it's like kicking a puppy."

Maddie gave him another tremulous smile when her phone rang. She stared at it, wondering if she should pick up.

"Who's calling you?"

"Julie."

Jake Riley frowned. "The blonde with the really round face? The goalie?"

"Jake! She does _not_ have a really round face!"

"Oh yes she does. She's obviously never heard of volumizing her hair, has she? That shit sticks so close to her scalp, you can't even tell if she has hair from certain angles. It's too bad a rack that nice was wasted on something like her."

"Stop it! Leave her alone…please!" Maddie whimpered before bursting into fresh tears.

"Christ…doll face," Jake swore, before picking up the annoying cell phone and answering it. "Hello?...fuck, lady, I can hear you just fine! She's right here next to me…No, I can't do that…are you always this dumb?...oh you know who I am…Jake Riley ring any bells?...I'll bring her back when she's good and ready…fuck me?...I think I'll pass, you're not that attractive…Oh go and lose a couple pounds for God's sake." He spat, pressing the end call button.

"I can't believe you just did that." Maddie sobbed, hugging Bagel even closer. "Jake…I know you don't like them…but they're all I have."

Something in her sad eyes tugged at Jake Riley's heart strings. But it wouldn't do to let her know that. "Listen…I'm not going to pretend to be civil to people I genuinely want off this planet. And it's not like they're the poster boy for politeness to me either. Conway probably wants my head on his wall and Germaine would most likely volunteer to sever it for him."

Maddie let out an extremely miserable little sigh as she processed the facts. Indeed there was no love lost between the two parties. She felt Jake move around so he was in front of her. As she looked up into his dark eyes, she saw the honesty with which he was speaking to her.

"No matter what I feel about them, you know I'll occasionally be here for you. You and Dylan are the only people I give a rat's ass about in this school." He said, taking another swig from his canteen.

"I know…you really need to get some better friends, Jake."

He snorted. "I could say the same for you."

Giving a slight smile, Maddie stood up. "How do I look? Fulton and Portman made me change at least seven times." she asked, standing up for inspection.

Jake pursed his lips as he scrutinized her. She was wearing a patterned dress that was a riotous whirlwind of color. Her hair was up in its usual elegant knot and she had on long, dangly earrings that picked up the colors of her dress perfectly. "You look pretty as a picture."

Maddie beamed. "Thanks. I guess I should go back. Try not to drink so much, ok?"

"Yeah, right." He scoffed as he followed her out of the closet. "The offer to pound in the git's face still stands, doll face."

"I'll keep that in mind. Wait."

Jake turned to look at the girl. She seemed a lot smaller when she was sitting. Standing, she looked more like a beanpole. "What?"

"Can I get a hug?" She asked sheepishly, holding out her arms. "I really need one."

"…"

"Please?"

"The things I do for you." Jake muttered, giving her a brief, two second hug. "There, you happy?"

"Quite. Bye, Jake!" She called over her shoulder, as she walked back to her suite, two dogs in tow.

* * *

Guy Germaine watched in mirth as his ex girlfriend tried to make small talk as his obviously annoyed roommate ignored her. That was reason one for their breakup. The girl could talk someone's ear off. After the novelty of her prettiness wore off, his tolerance had worn off as well.

_Oh well_, Guy thought gleefully. _Dylan has to deal with it now_.

He turned as Ken Wu tapped him on the shoulder. "What up, Ken?"

"FIFA in Goldie's room as soon as the punk shows up? You up for it?"

"Only if you want your ass dominated." Guy answered easily, brightening at the prospect of video games. It was one of the few pleasures in his world.

That and watching Dylan Howard throw a shit fit.

Which was about to happen considering Alicia had just about rubbed his nerves raw and Maddie had just walked in the door.

Life was better than a soap opera, he decided, leaning back in his chair and accepting the soda Russ tossed at him.

* * *

Scott Pendleton knocked on the door to Suite 301 with a rather annoyed expression on his face. Madison Kim was too much trouble, he decided. First Howard and Portman, then Rivera and Banks…all in the same day! And finally, just as he was walking up the steps to Corrigan Hall, he had run into Jake Riley who also had a few choice words to say.

_Flashback_

"_Well, well. If it isn't Todd the snot." Jake Riley drawled, raising a canteen to his lips. _

_Scott watched him warily. A sober Jake Riley was bad enough, he _really_ didn't want to deal with a drunk one. "It's Scott. And if you'd excuse me, I'm running a little late." He sneered with more bravado than he felt. _

_Bad move on his part. _

_For the second time that week, Scott was lifted up by the lapels of his dry cleaned shirt. Carmen Rivera was going to kill him, he thought despairingly before looking into the dark eyes of the bigger boy. "What the hell are you doing!" _

_Riley moved in closer. "Let me tell you one thing. If I hear that she cried tonight, you're dead. Got it? You make her cry, I'll make _you_ cry. Have a good time now." _

_End Flashback_

And he hadn't even _seen_ the girl yet. She had better look damn good after all the shit he'd been through.

"You're a minute and twelve seconds late." Dylan Howard scowled, as he flung open the door. "Good, you're somewhat clean."

Scott felt that that was slightly unfair. Not only did he look clean, he looked good. The clothes that Rivera had picked out did justice to his complexion and eyes. And the lip ring gave just the right edge to the entire preppiness of his outfit. "Go fuck yourself, Howard."

The steel grey eyes darkened at him as he walked into the suite. Inside he was met with what seemed to be the whole hockey team plus a few. "Christ."

"No, just Averman." A redhead grinned from the couch. "You must be the lucky man."

Dean Portman and his other half, Fulton Reed, cracked their knuckles audibly in the tense silence. Adam Banks and Charlie Conway glared at him from the other side of the room. Blank stares came from Germaine and the black kid. The Asian kid and the fat one flat out ignored him. Moreau and the goalie gave him a once over coolly before returning to their conversation. "_Well, ain't this just swell_." He thought sarcastically before retreating to a wall where Rivera happened to be.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" Scott said brightly, trying to be polite. By God, Rivera scared him and he _definitely_ wanted to stay on her good side. "It's actually really nice out there. Not too warm, not too cold. Mildly brisk."

Carmen looked at him with an eyebrow raised as if she couldn't believe he was speaking to her. "Pendleton, the only subject we could _possibly_ talk about is what time you're going to have Maddie back in this room and the only _word_ I need from you concerning that subject is "_early_." Do I make myself clear?"

Scott blinked. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good." And with that, she walked off in a swish of gold.

"Isn't she _amazing_?" Dylan marveled, his eyes watching Carmen's retreating figure appreciatively. "She's perfect."

"Yeah, if you're a masochist."

The punk's surly answer was enough to shake Dylan from his lovesick daze. "Anyway, after much deliberation, I've narrowed our aforementioned rules down to one."

"Really. Let's hear it." Scott hissed, matching Dylan's disgruntled expression.

The blond stood up a little straighter, hoping for that one inch in height. Giving a little toss of his hair, he continued. "You don't touch her. At all."

"Good one, Dylan." Cheered Russ from his place on the couch. "I like it!"

"You may look at her occasionally but any eye contact for longer than a second is prohibited. If you can't seem to keep your eyes or hands off my darling, I will remove them for you." Dylan snapped, shrugging into his black dinner jacket. "Do you have any questions?"

"No, _sir_." Scott growled sarcastically. "Don't worry, I'm the epitome of safety. I even brought condoms, because sex without a barrier method can kill."

The Bash Brothers, fortunately didn't hear that last statement but Adam and Charlie sure did. The two stood up, eyes boring holes into the intruder's body. However, a furious Dylan held up a hand to signal that he had it under control. Turning to face the sneering boy, he smiled evenly and not a little sinisterly at him.

"That's the right idea. Think about it this way… when it comes to sex, _we_ are the barrier and we _will_ kill you. Comprende? Now let's go. Maggot! Hurry it up!"

Julie rolled her eyes as she listened to the masculine power play that was going on. "Honestly!"

"Let them be. They're having fun." Connie murmured dryly before turning to smile at her roommate. "You look very nice, sweetheart."

Maddie smiled at them nervously before giving each of them a kiss goodbye. "I'll be back soon. Carmen, will you take care of Willy for me? He listens to you occasionally."

"No problem, dear." Carmen said, smoothing the taller girl's hair. "Have a good time, ok?"

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to answer because Fulton and Portman had each stepped into her line of vision. "Didn't we tell you to wear the sweats?"

"Yeah, now it looks like you actually _tried_ to look nice for him!" Fulton objected before he was slapped hard on the shoulder by Connie. "Ow!"

"Oh for crying out loud! Leave the poor girl alone!" Julie scolded as she ushered the two away from the fray. "You two are worse than a bunch of girls."

"Hey, you look nice." Scott said smoothly as Maddie walked over to him. She gave him a smile of thanks. "Nice dog. He a full beagle?"

"His name-" She started before she was interrupted by a snickering Charlie.

"She has another one too. A Rottweiler. You wanna meet him?"

Unsure of why everyone in the room had suddenly started smirking, Scott mumbled a "Sure."

"Turn around, baby boy." Luis sang, motioning with his hand.

Upon slowly turning, Scott was met with the biggest brute of a dog he had ever seen. He was almost positive he was going to have nightmares due to the fact that the Rottweiler's teeth were bared and there was a low growl of menace coming forth from his throat. Scott watched in horror as his date for the evening bent down on her knees to hug the monstrosity. "Isn't he beautiful? His name's Willy." Maddie beamed, giving it a kiss. "Well, we should get going. Bye, everybody!"

Adam Banks leaned back in his chair with a slight smile as a white faced Scott Pendleton tried to walk around the still angry Rottweiler. He had been right. It was completely worth having the brute around, if only just for this moment.

Willy gave a slight lunge towards Scott which sent the boy in question scampering down the hallway with a soft yelp, after the other members of his party.

Oh yeah…it was so worth it.

* * *

R&R, please! I really want to hear your thoughts. Well, constructive criticism. Flames might make me cry.

This is 35 pages on Word. I was going to include the entire date in it as well but I'm short on time…so here's a nice, healthy chunk for now! Some of it feels a little rushed to me because I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. I'd like to focus on character development so bear with me a little if it seems a little too slow moving for you.

I'll see you guys during Christmas! Stay safe!

* * *

**Tinkerbell821**: I know, I've been swamped with work. That's one of the reasons I made this chapter extra long. Thanks for taking the time to write me a review!

**Joshysgirl:** Thanks for the review, dear! I kind of figured Charlie would act that way in a sex dry spell. I fixed it for him though, so it's fine!

**Sphinx005:** Bagel loves everybody and Willy can tolerate perkiness so I'm sure it'll be fine. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and thanks for the review. Btw, where DO you get the time to write all those stories of yours? I barely have enough to send out a chapter of this every month. You're my hero, lol.

**Joanna: **Jake Riley's gonna be important, especially during senior year! Thank you so much for the review, it really means a lot.

**Flowersc781:** Awww, you're making me blush! Carmen is based after one of the girls from my high school who was my idol. Lol, she was a senior when I was a freshman and I like worshipped her even while being slightly scared of her. Anyway, thanks so much for the review, it made my day!


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks unfortunately. Disney owns them, just like they own everything else that's good in life._

– _Chapter Seven –_

* * *

Madison Kim was not the sort of girl to be uncomfortable.

She had been born with that rare gift to make herself and others feel at home wherever she went and whenever she wanted. Her bright, impish smile and cheery disposition had helped ease tension and make even the most awkward of situations bearable. When she put her mind to it, Dylan Howard's charm was nothing compared to hers.

But this…this she washed her hands of.

She was sitting in one of her favorite restaurants in Minneapolis, with one hand on her fuming best friend's tense knee, the other hand idly picking at her spiced cauliflower all the while listening to Alicia Harrolds blabber on and on about something or the other and watching Scott Pendleton look at her chest.

_Not that there's much to look at_, she thought waspishly. _I'm as flat as a board_.

"Anyway, this restaurant is lovely, I'm so glad we're here. Really, isn't everyone having a grand time?" Alicia chirped, her dark eyes sparkling with vapidity. "Dylan, you've already cut that piece of meat twice."

If Dylan's hair didn't cover his forehead, his present party would have noticed a prominent vein throbbing. Hastily, he took a sip of water. If he didn't occupy his mouth, he felt that it would develop a mind of its own and verbally abuse his delightful _date_ until the next century.

"Easy, Dyl." A barely audible murmur reached his ears as his best friend gave his knee a comforting yet cautionary pat.

Dylan rolled his eyes and loosened the collar around his neck. He was slowly languishing in the pits of Hell. He was too good and too damn _godly_ to be stuck with these morons. Well, besides Maddie. She could be his sidekick.

They had arrived at the trendy restaurant with relatively minimal friction. Maddie had of course, been utterly sweet and had engaged in small talk with Scott the fart and Alicia the idiot. That had led to Alicia thinking it was okay for her to talk and talk and talk about stupid, useless things.

That girl needed a muzzle.

Anyway, it had been mildly tolerable until they had been seated. Dylan had immediately taken the seat next to her, much to Scott's anger. Looking back in retrospect, however, he should have taken the seat opposite her as the prick couldn't seem to take his eyes off her and was positively oozing with disgusting charm. Maybe he thought that Dylan wasn't noticing every time he ran his tongue over his lip ring. Apparently he thought it was sexy.

It wasn't.

Dylan thought he looked like an overgrown iguana every time his tongue flicked out to gently massage his lip ring. His tongue was too weirdly shaped for him to keep doing that. Did the kid _honestly_ think he was going to get anywhere with those reptilian habits?

Still he had to thank God that Maddie was so thick. She had smiled at the appropriate times and then concentrated on her dinner, looking absorbedly at the spiced vegetables. Scott had looked rather put out at the tacit snub and had looked even more perturbed at the expression of silent gloating on Dylan's face.

And so the two had been glaring at each other, Scott's eyes narrowed and Dylan never losing that aura of cool superiority. Dylan felt slightly better, knowing he was causing Scott Pendleton to have a lousy time. Lord only knew _he_ was.

He was jerked out of his staring match when he heard a familiar, malicious laugh. Judging from the stiffening around Maddie's shoulders, he knew that she had heard it too. Slowly turning his head towards the entrance, he saw Emily Parker, Tricia Manning and his _dear, sweet cousin_ walking into the restaurant and giving them a condescending glance.

The small hand that had been resting on his knee suddenly tightened as the owner struggled to keep _her _temper, instead of pacifying his. Dylan swore under his breath, and once again loosened the collar around his neck. He was choking on air, he really was.

* * *

Connie Moreau sighed as she reread the page in her psychology textbook. It was a Friday night and she, one of the most popular girls in school if she did say so herself, was stuck in her room, doing _homework_. The irony of her situation did not escape her.

Although…it did seem to be a rather quiet night.

Most of the boys were in Goldie's room, playing video games. Connie didn't understand how someone could sit in a chair for hours upon hours, concentrating so hard on something that trivial. But then again, she was a girl. Girls didn't enjoy playing video games for two straight hours.

No, that wasn't true.

Julie was in there, as well. On certain nights, she was just as bad as the boys.

Shutting her book with a snap, Connie rubbed her eyes tiredly before taking a glance around their small sitting room. It was beautifully done, with dark coral colored walls and ivory jacquard curtains. Even the furniture was luxurious, with rich, dark mahogany wood and ivory and pale blue upholstery. Their respective bedrooms were no less tasteful, with the same mahogany wood but pale cream colored walls. Connie had supposed that this was done to let the students decide on how to decorate their rooms.

The boys' rooms were the same as theirs, although some were with reversed colors. Pale blue walls and ivory and coral colored upholstery. Upon moving in, Connie had seen that the whole floor was decked in the same pattern. A coral suite, then a pale blue suite, a coral suite, then a pale blue suite. Of course, the boys were pretty much oblivious to the grandeur.

The suites just went to show how money and the right connections could get you anything in life.

She was pretty sure that if the Ducks had never met Carmen Rivera, they would never have been living in Corrigan Hall. The building was rumored to house only the richest and most privileged of the Eden Hall upperclassmen, the first three floors consisting of juniors and the next three consisting of seniors. Hence, the splendor of the suites.

The housing department would not have given the valuable space to scholarship students, under the prejudiced assumption that they would have probably trashed the rooms upon seeing them, not knowing the full value of their surroundings. Connie frowned, a little peeved at the indignity of it all. To her knowledge, the scholarship students were the ones who knew the full value of their Eden Hall experience and would never jeopardize the honor of living here.

And somehow Carmen had known this. It never ceased to amaze Connie how much faith she had in the Ducks and how much she worked for them. She had been the one to ensure that all of them got placed in Corrigan Hall, which must have been pure hell even with her connections.

And boy, did that girl have connections.

Apparently, due to her tireless work as underclassmen president last year, Eden Hall had saved over five thousand dollars in budgetary allotment and had doubled the number of potential applicants, placing Eden Hall in the top five boarding schools in America. She had taken the student government to a whole other level, thus raising the standard for all other clubs and student organizations.

It had gotten to the point where Dean Buckley was practically under her control, which was useful considering the fact that the Ducks did get in quite a bit of trouble. Carmen had calmly used her influence to get them out every single time, never mentioning it afterwards.

Connie had wondered how she held so much power. She knew that Carmen wasn't a scholarship student and was paying the full tuition but she never seemed to find any opposition with the troublesome alumni board with her rather direct propositions and obviously Puerto Rican heritage. Maddie had finally informed her that Carmen, like so many of the other rich snobs at the school, was a legacy on her Norwegian mother's side and that her mother was extremely active in alumni relations back in the East Coast.

It had been a shock, to say the least, to know that Carmen's family held just as much power and wealth as the Riley's did. And Carmen hadn't mentioned it _once_.

Then again, Carmen never really did mention her family. She was an only child, who had pretty much raised herself due to her parents' busy careers. Her relationship with her mother was strained, to say it lightly and she and her father held a formal and uneasy alliance. Apparently, her father was a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and her mother was a partner at some huge law firm in Philadelphia. Although Carmen never complained about the pressures that surrounded her, it made a fleeting appearance once in awhile. She never relished going home and always slipped out when the discussion turned to family.

It was almost…tragic.

She wondered how that must feel. To have one's parents alive yet so distant that they might as well have been dead. While Connie's mom had died when she was young, her father had always been there to support her emotionally. And not only that but she had had Hans, Jan, and Casey Conway to turn to as well. Carmen had had _no one_.

Carmen sighed. Thinking about Carmen's past always made her a little melancholy. She had never thought that the story of the poor little rich girl would garner so much compassion in her. But then again, maybe it was the fact that if Connie had so much as given her a _little_ pity, Carmen would have been furious.

_Speak of the devil_. Connie thought as the door opened and the golden haired beauty slipped in. "Hey, I didn't know you had gone out."

Carmen gave her an exhausted smile as she dropped her oversized black leather satchel on the couch with a heavy thud. "I slipped out to the library for a bit. Where is everyone?"

"In Goldie's room."

"FIFA?"

Connie gave a slight grunt of confirmation before turning to look at her friend more closely. "You don't look too good, Car."

Running her fingers through her hair tiredly, she shrugged. "I know. Maybe I'm coming down with something."

"Why don't you go to bed? You look like death warmed over."

"Thank you, Miss Moreau." Carmen said dryly. "I was going to wait til Maddie gets back. Pendleton's scared shitless of me." She added almost gloatingly.

Connie laughed. "I'm sure he is. But you don't look very scary right now. All I see is a drained girl who's been running around all over the place. Go. To. Bed."

Sighing, Carmen got up. She really was too tired to argue and Connie did have a point. "I think I am going to go to bed early. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good girl." Connie murmured as she watched the girl slump into her room. Heaving another sigh, she stood up and walked over to the window. She had just realized that she had gotten rid of the only companion that wasn't playing video games. She scowled.

Was there nothing to do in this god-forsaken place?

* * *

"So who's going to be at this party?" Fulton Reed asked as he and Dean Portman walked through the campus. The two had decided that they weren't in the mood for video games and hence, made up their mind to check out the party scene instead.

"Probably a whole bunch of preppies." Portman snorted, jumping over a tree root. "Whatever, it's hosted by the football team so it shouldn't be _too_ shabby."

"Oh." Strangely enough, the football team and the hockey team were on pretty good terms. Actually, most of the athletic teams were getting along, as there were a rising number of students of athletic scholarships. It was comforting to know that the Eden Hall population wasn't just for the financially elite anymore.

And besides, it made life more interesting.

"Is that it?" Fulton asked, nodding over to a building, where clearly illuminated on the fourth floor, a full blown party was being held. "Not bad, not bad at all."

Portman grinned in anticipation.

* * *

He was going to crack.

Maddie could practically _feel_ every muscle in his body coiling for an attack. And she couldn't do anything about it.

For the past fifteen minutes, Alicia hadn't stopped talking _once_ and Scott had been cutting into her monologue with an irritatingly cutting comment, designed specifically to induce maximum stress on her best friend. Not to mention that the three harpies had been seated at the table immediately next to theirs and were subsequently making their lives _miserable_.

Well, no. The three had their targets. Contrary to popular belief, Allie Howard had developed a civil friendship with the Ducks due to Dwayne's insistence and that had extended to Maddie. So every remark that she made in her cold drawl was designed specifically at her cousin, who she _hadn't _made peace with. Hence, Dylan's gradual buildup of rage.

Tricia Manning still wanted to get in Dylan's pants so she directed most of her cutting remarks towards Maddie. "_The pathetic little carrot top_." Maddie scowled, wanting to rip that red hair out of her head.

And Emily Parker just wanted _everyone_ to suffer so _no one_ was safe from her.

"Tell me, did that lip ring hurt?" Alicia suddenly asked, turning to look at Scott.

"I beg your pardon?" Scott said, looking astonished that she was talking to him directly.

"Your lip ring. Did it hurt? I've always kind of wanted to get one but was too scared." She said, looking admiringly at the silver hoop.

"Well would you look at that. The two rejects can't even seem to keep their dates focused on them. I expected it from Kim but thought better of Howard. Just goes to show what happens when you start hanging out with trash like that." Emily Parker drawled, raising her wine glass to her lips.

"You damn _whore_."

Maddie winced and withdrew her hand from Dylan's knee. There was no point in trying to calm him down now.

Ignoring Alicia's gasp and Scott's look of disbelief, Dylan Howard glared at Emily Parker, fury emanating from every pore of his body. "Shut the _fuck_ up, you little _bitch_."

Maddie gave a little sigh of resignation. Oh yeah, there was _absolutely _no point in appeasing the blond now. No one could calm Dylan down when he was angry.

And right now, Dylan was positively _livid_.

* * *

"And Averman busts once again! And who is the winner?" Russ Tyler yelled, throwing his hands in the air in glee. "That's right! ME!"

Averman tossed him a sour glare. "Ever hear of sportsmanship?"

"Nope!" Russ grinned, catching a can of soda that Charlie threw at him. "Who's up for another round?"

"Dude, you're on." Ken Wu snorted, picking up a controller. "I'm going to pulverize you."

"I've won the last three rounds!" Russ said smugly, dodging the pillow that Guy threw at him. "What makes you think you can beat me?"

"Because you've been playing against Averman, Goldberg and Guy." Ken said in a matter of fact tone. "I can pretty much guarantee that me and Charlie can give you a run for your money."

"Bring it on, little man." Russ challenged, before realizing that they had no fourth player. "Wait, we need one more. Jules, you up for one?"

Julie Gaffney looked up from her conversation with Dwayne. "Do you think you can handle losing to a girl?"

Russ's scoff was drowned out by Charlie's sudden protest. "I don't wanna play if Jules is playing!"

"Why not?" She demanded, looking offended.

"Cause you don't play _fair_."

Julie looked speculative for a second. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that."

Averman rolled his eyes. "I'm out, guys."

"Hey, where're you going? I'm ordering pizza!" Goldberg yelled, with one hand covering the mouthpiece of his phone. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Averman was already gone.

* * *

"Portman! Glad you could make it!"

"Pretty sick party you got goin' on here, Jones." Portman said, giving the burly football player a pound. "This is my boy, Fulton."

"Nice to meet you, man. I've seen you play, that slap shot's somethin' else." Jones said amicably, shaking Fulton's hand.

Fulton grinned. "Thanks. Just how many people are here tonight?" he asked, looking around at the packed common room.

"Who knows? Everyone's here for a good time, just like you. Hey, sweetie, why don't you come find me later?" Jones leered, calling after a gorgeous brunette who simply laughed at him. "Anyway, the kegs are scattered around. Help yourselves to it. Remember, gentlemen…" He then climbed up onto a chair and hollered "_**Live fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse behind!**_**" **

Amidst the raucous cheers that arose to their host's extravagant statement, Jones threw them a wink and disappeared, most likely in search of that delicious brunette.

"How much do you want to bet that he's drunk off his ass right now?" Fulton breathed, grinning.

"I wouldn't…chugging contest, bro?" Portman asked, spying the keg over by the wall. Unlike the other Ducks, the two were no strangers to alcohol and thus behaved as such.

"You're on."

**( A/N: Awww, it's the first high school booze party that I've written! My Duckies are growing up and being introduced to alcohol… )**

* * *

Emily Parker froze as Dylan Howard's words hit her. "_What_ did you just say?"

"Did you not hear me?" he asked, his handsome features ice cold. "I said to shut the _fuck _up, you little _bitch_!"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Emily snapped, sitting straight up and glaring at him.

"Who the hell do I think _I _am?" Dylan repeated, looking even more furious. "Who's the one who followed us to _dinner_ and sat _next_ to us because her _own _life is too pathetic to bear?"

"Quit the dramatics." Allie drawled, looking immensely bored with the situation. "You're just a right bitch these days, Dyl."

Dylan turned to glare at her, his steely grey eyes boring into hers. "And look at what else we have-"

"Oh shut up." She cut him off smoothly, checking her complexion in her mirror. "Well as fun as this has been, I really must go. Dwayne's expecting me back in twenty minutes. Bye, sweets. Love those earrings, Maddie." She threw a twenty down on the table for her bill and breezed through the door, leaving an apoplectic Dylan and an Emily that wasn't far behind.

Alicia and Scott were uncomfortably aware that the rather profane group was drawing the attention of some of the nearby tables. People were watching with unabashed interest as the teenagers duked it out. Human nature just _loved_ drama.

"You and I both know that I only speak the truth. Company affects personality." Emily hissed after an intense minute of silence.

"I'm sure it does, Parker." Maddie bit out, fixing the girl with a look that was overflowing with scorn.

She let out a derisive laugh. "Shut your trap, Kim. What would you know about anything? You're just a naïve little girl who lives in her own happy make believe world. Grow _up_."

"Don't even address her. You don't have the right to talk to her." Dylan spat out, his anger almost tangible.

"Leave it alone, Dylan." Maddie said suddenly, staring coolly at Emily. "Go on, Parker. Let's hear what you got."

"Please, you're not even worth my time." Emily snorted before turning to look at the silent Tricia. "What the hell is wrong with _you_?"

"_Maybe_…just maybe…she's sick of _you_."

"Go to hell, Kim." Tricia growled, breaking out of her trance. "Emily's right, Dylan. Your current company leaves _much _to be desired."

Dylan released a series of curses that made quite a few people in the surrounding area blanch. It was extremely graphic and delivered with such ice cold rage that if his mother had been there, Dylan's mouth would probably have been washed out with Lysol.

"_Dylan Thomas Howard_! What the _hell _are you saying!"

Even in his blind wrath, Dylan immediately recognized that melodic voice. Turning slowly, he came face to face with the speaker and felt the blood in his veins freeze.

Standing with her hands on her hips and while looking shocked to see him at the restaurant, yet infuriated at his choice of language, stood his sister, Christina Grace Howard, in full beautiful glory. Grey eyes locked upon grey eyes, as his unbelieving mind processed that the cause for his irritation for the past few weeks was truly here and ready to be dealt with.

"Hi, Tina. I'm surprised you remember me. You here to join the party? Almost thought you wouldn't make it, knowing how much you can't _stand _to leave Princeton and all." He spat.

Maddie let out a groan as Christina's eyes flashed. Their feud with Tricia and Emily was temporarily forgotten as the two siblings prepared to wage war.

* * *

Luis Mendoza looked over at Adam Banks speculatively. The two were sitting in Adam's sitting room, playing chess as neither of them had found the prospect of video games for the whole night entertaining. Luis was in an odd mood that night. He felt rather…pensive. It was just…odd.

Well, he had to be in an odd mood to be spending his Friday night with Banks, playing _chess_. He almost groaned at the embarrassment of it all.

"Checkmate." Adam said quietly, breaking Luis' musings.

Luis snapped back to reality and gaped at the chessboard. "But-but…"

"Yes, I know." Adam agreed affably, sitting back in his chair.

"Whatever." Luis finally huffed, also sitting back in his armchair and glaring at the offending pieces. "Chess sucks."

"No, _you_ just suck at _chess_." His friend corrected, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "It's ok. I've been playing for a long time."

"Adam…just shut up. Don't go around _telling _people how much you want to marry the chessboard." Luis advised, looking pained on behalf of the poor, misguided boy. "You may never get a girl again."

Adam looked over at him, a slight frown on his lips. "You know I'm not looking for a girl anyway, Mendoza."

"Dude, are you still not over Emily? That's been ages."

"Of course I am! I'm just not looking for a relationship!"

"Well, neither am I but you don't see me avoiding girls like they're the plague!"

"That's because your hormones are out of control." Adam snorted, rolling his eyes.

Luis sniffed. "Shut up, Banks. I don't see how you have _no_ interest in the opposite sex…wait a second…"

Adam raised an eyebrow at the boy, who was staring at him in slight trepidation. "What?"

"You…aren't…_gay_…are you?"

"_NO!_"

"I mean, it's ok, if you are…I'm sure the Ducks won't have any problems with it…" Luis babbled, still looking at Adam speculatively.

"Luis, I'm not _gay_. Trust me." Adam groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I just don't have the time to spend thinking about girls."

"Just what are you _doing_ that you don't have the time?" Luis demanded, still unable to comprehend Adam's lack of interest in anything that a _normal_ teenage boy would do.

"It's junior year, Mendoza." Adam said quietly, staring at the chessboard intently. "We got our GPA to worry about not to mention SATs, extracurriculars, and this whole hockey thing isn't making my life any easier. We need to start looking at colleges and knowing my dad, that's just going to be a whole other level of stress. I don't have the _time_ to fool around with girls. It wouldn't be fair to them as well as me."

"You know…no one's telling you to be in a relationship."

"And _you_ know I don't do random hookups. Besides, girls take up a lot of time."

"…Not everyone's like Emily Parker, Banks."

"What? What does she have to do with anything?" Adam spoke up defensively.

"That's the problem, isn't it?" Luis said shrewdly. "Man, she screwed you up real good."

"She did _not_. I'm completely over her." He protested.

"Not where it counts."

Adam couldn't believe his ears. He really was over her! That girl could do whatever she wanted, he was done with her. But as he looked over at Luis, he was surprised to see the usually flippant boy's face serious and…wait, was that…pity? Adam just stared at him, wondering what he could have meant by that last statement.

"Think about it, Banks." Luis spoke not unkindly. "You may think that you are, but it's obvious…to me at least… that a part of you isn't. Don't beat yourself up about it, man."

"You're wrong." Adam said abruptly. "As touching as your concern is…there's nothing left."

"We'll see." Luis shrugged cryptically. "I think I'm going to join in a game of FIFA. Wanna come?"

Dazedly, Adam shook his head.

"Ok, then. See you in the morning, Banks."

His head was still swimming as the door closed. Luis was wrong. Adam shook his head, trying to convince himself. Luis couldn't be right.

He just _couldn't_. His statements had no merit and were absolutely ludicrous.

Adam suddenly stood up and kicked the chessboard off the table in frustration, sending the pieces flying all over the room. He stood there for a couple minutes, panting and clenching his fists in anger and aggravation before he finally started to calm down. After another couple of minutes, he was back to his old self.

And because he was back to his old, meticulous self, he righted the chessboard and picked up all the pieces scattered around the floor. Spending seven minutes trying to find the black knight, he finally discovered it underneath the sofa. He carefully placed it in its proper location and turned to go before stopping.

Scrutinizing the fixed display before him, he frowned. Something wasn't right.

Ah ha!

Adam carefully turned the white bishop around slightly. That was so much better.

* * *

"Pass me another slice."

"Get it yourself, Spazway."

"Aargh, fine…Goldie, pass me another slice."

"What? What was that? Oh yes, you must have forgotten that Goldberg currently can not hear you over the noise of his superior intellectual and reflexive prowess."

"…"

"Charlie, just get it yourself."

"Julie, could you please pass me a slice of pizza?"

"Sure."

"What! How come she gets a please?"

"Shut up, Russ. It's because I'm a girl."

"I've noticed."

"Hey, Luis…why don't you keep it in your pants."

Luis Mendoza glared at the offending redhead. "Shut up, Averman."

"You shut up."

"No, _you_ shut up!"

"How about both of you shut up!"

"Shut up, Charlie."

"Don't tell him to shut up."

"You can shut up, too."

"Shut up, Goldberg!"

"_WILL ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!_" Connie Moreau screamed across the hall from her suite. "IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU'VE BEEN PLAYING VIDEO GAMES FOR THE PAST FOUR _HOURS_ BUT NOW YOU'RE PLAYING THE SHUT UP GAME AS WELL?!"

There was a stunned silence as the members of Suite 300 processed what the extremely volatile hockey player had said. It was obvious that Connie Moreau was in a high temper.

"Charlie…_do_ something." Ken Wu hissed, his dark eyes darting over to the open door.

Charlie blanched, his eyes growing wide. "And what exactly would you have me _do_? She's pissed as hell at me!"

"But she's always pissed at you…this shouldn't be anything different." Goldberg rationed quietly. "Work your magic, Spazway."

"Unless she's pissed enough to get physical." Averman mused. "I don't want her reverting back to her Velvet Hammer days."

"No, someone else do it." Charlie adamantly refused, shaking his head violently.

"Charlie, you've dealt with insane bitches before." Russ grinned, still not raising his voice above a whisper. "I mean…Linda? All those times getting Emily Parker off Adam? Dealing with your pregnant mother? Connie should be no problem."

There was a contemplative silence as the group thought about the logic behind that. It made sense. Decisively, Charlie stood up.

"This _insane bitch_ can _HEAR_ you!"

With a gulp, Charlie sat back down resolutely. "No way in Hell."

* * *

Carmen Rivera's eyes snapped open as she heard the ring of her cell phone. Answering it immediately, there was no indication in her voice that she had been sleeping for the past hour. Ken had compared her immediate consciousness to the Maasai warriors who were able to rise from a deep sleep to a state of complete battle ready mentality in a matter of seconds. Carmen thought that was just bullshit.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rivera?" A male voice came out crackly on the other end.

Frowning slightly, Carmen checked the number. She had never seen it before. Not that she was surprised. More people had her number than she theirs. "Yes, who is this?"

"This is Landon."

"What?"

"Josh Landon. Remember? The guy who you stole a fucking _Porsche_ from?"

_I didn't steal it_, Carmen thought rebelliously before waving it aside. "I know who you are, you idiot. I'm asking you why you're _calling_ me."

On the other end of the phone, Josh Landon suppressed a smile. "I'm over on the West campus. I think you should get over here."

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Because two of your lovely Ducks are piss drunk and causing a general disturbance."

Carmen sat up, becoming even more alert. "Explain."

"The Bash Brothers are currently drunker than a pair of college frat boys, and along with some other wasted members of the football team, are running around in quite a state of undress. I must say, they _are_ kind of endearing…in a brutish way."

Carmen let loose a string of expletives that made Josh Landon hold the phone away from his ear in shock. "How long can you hold them?"

"I can't. I have to go distract the guards. I suggest you bring back up."

There was no answer as Carmen had already hung up.

* * *

"You're such a _baby_!"

"Yeah? No shit!"

"Oh god, grow up, Dylan!"

"Get a haircut, Christina!"

Maddie sank her head down in her hands. Their argument had been reduced to this after five minutes. Christina had excused herself from her friends and was now engaged in a tiresome and repetitive fight with her just as irritated brother.

"I came back, didn't I? I said I wasn't going to but I did!"

"Yeah, why _did_ you? You obviously couldn't have missed me that much. You haven't called in _how_ long?"

"That's not fair, Dylan! I'm swamped with work! Work that I'm not doing because I'm visiting you and Brian!"

"I knew it! You're only here because of _Brian_! Dear, sweet, I'm-so-ugly-that-I-can't-be-seen-in-public-without-that-stupid-fedora Brian!"

"So this is what it's about? Is this about Brian?"

Dylan sputtered, looking aghast even at the mention of the name. "Why on _Earth_ would it be about Brian?"

"Because you don't like him! You're always on his case! God, Dylan, I wish you could be happy for me!"

"Happy for you? _Happy_ for you? Let me ask you something…_are _you happy? With that prick?"

"Yes!" Christina almost screamed, looking livid. "I love him! And he loves me!"

_Maybe not as much as you think_, Maddie thought absently, as she took a glance around the restaurant and saw the controversial boyfriend standing by the entrance with his arm wrapped around another curvaceous blonde.

She then froze as she realized what she had just seen. _Please, no_. Slowly she turned her head back towards the entrance. There was no mistaking the fedora. It was Brian…with another girl. _Maybe it's his sister_.

She let out a gasp as Brian bent down to give the girl a lingering kiss. Maddie was sure that siblings didn't kiss each other like that.

Dylan turned sharply at the sound of Maddie's shocked gasp. The chit sat frozen in her seat, her eyes wide in the direction of the restaurant's entrance. Wondering what the hell she was goggling at, Dylan followed her gaze. And he too, froze.

"Dylan? Dylan, what on Earth are you looking at?" Christina asked impatiently, turning to look as well. "Seriously…you're more easily distracted than-"

"Oh." And with that small sound, Dylan felt his sister's heart break for what seemed, the hundredth time.

* * *

"Adam? You busy?"

Adam looked up from his armchair. Connie stood in the doorway, buttoning up her coat. "No, not really. Why?"

She tossed him a mirthless smile. "You wanna go pick up Portman and Fulton?"

"Pick up? Can't they walk for themselves?" Adam questioned, getting up anyway. He needed to get out of this room.

"Not really."

"What? They're not hurt, are they?"

"No, no. They're just…completely…wasted out of their minds."

Adam paused in the middle of pulling on a sweatshirt. "_Excuse_ me?"

"Carmen just got a call, telling her to pick them up on West. The girl can barely stand so I told her to go back to sleep and that I'd go instead. Besides, I was getting antsy, sitting in that room alone. Come on, apparently they're being more annoying than usual."

"Those _idiots_." Adam swore softly, before following Connie out of his suite. If they got caught in this state of intoxication, they'd be out of Eden Hall in a matter of days. He doubted even Carmen could get them out of a situation like that.

* * *

Allie Howard smiled as she saw her boyfriend curled up on a sofa. He always made her so gushy, it was sickening.

What was even more sickening was the fact that she loved every minute of it.

Thinking back to the restaurant, Allie noticed that Emily had a point. Company really _did_ affect personality. Because God only knew that the _Ducks _were the only ones capable of eliciting such a goody-goody feeling in her stomach.

Allie shuddered, trying to bat away the infectious good willed nature of the Ducks. It was unhealthy for people with IQs higher than an 89. Reaching over, she rather harshly prodded her sleeping boyfriend.

"I'll feed the cows later, momma." He mumbled, twitching slightly.

_Oh, he's just adorable_! Allie squealed in her mind, clutching her hands to her chest. _My little boo-boo!_

She then straightened, chasing those abnormal thoughts away. Time was precious and she expected a great deal from her cowboy. After all, she _had_ left her girlfriends early for him. She deserved payment and Allie _always_ collected.

"Dwayne Robertson! Get your scrawny, pale, tight ass up right now!"

Dwayne opened his eyes immediately at the sound of her voice and bolted upright, his hands frantically trying to comb his hair into some semblance of order. Allie was happy to see that this was all automatic and congratulated herself on training him so well. She smiled at him sweetly. "Hello, dear."

"Hey, Allie. I must've fell asleep." Dwayne said wildly, as his hands moved to smooth the wrinkles in his shirt. He looked up at her with a weak smile and was not surprised to see a rather predatory look in her slate grey eyes. She was a regular little fireball, he had figured out, and that just made him fonder of her.

He had also figured out that he should keep all attention on her when she had that look in her eyes but unfortunately, Dwayne was forgetful and tended to stray off on tangents on a regular basis. He recalled that belatedly as Allie launched herself into his arms and glued her lips to his.

_I just fixed my hair_, Dwayne thought plaintively as he felt Allie's fingers thread themselves into his hair, mussing it up beyond assistance.

* * *

"How are we going to do this?" Connie asked, surveying the scene with despair.

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose, unable to answer. He was still in shock.

Their two hockey players, along with three equally stupid football players, were currently creating havoc on the fourth floor common room of Franklin Hall. Dancing and singing what seemed to be a horribly off key rendition of Kelly Clarkson's "Since You Been Gone" with a group of at least fifty people, the burly athletes had not a stitch of clothing on them besides what appeared to be a _garbage bag_ tied around their waist.

"Do you think they'll recognize us?" He asked, cringing as Portman's makeshift diaper almost came undone.

"Let's hope so. Alright here's the plan. Run in there, make sure they recognize us, run back out. _With _them in tow." Connie said firmly, straightening her shoulders and standing tall. Not that it helped. She didn't even come up to Adam's armpit.

"On three, then."

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!"

The two soldiers of sobriety took a deep breath and ran into the great army of Bacchus-worshippers. The things they did for friendship.

_If they think that I'm going to let them get away with this, they are _very_ much mistaken!_ Connie thought savagely, as she dodged past a boy that had pulled his pants down and was currently urinating on the sofa, without a care in the world. _Oh God! That's disgusting!_

_Jesus Christ!_ Adam swore profusely in his mind. _Just what the hell kind of party had this _been?

His path was suddenly blocked by a strawberry blonde who winked at him lecherously. "Hey, sugar. You're looking absolutely delectable. How about this…I blow you and then we fuck…sound good?"

Adam stared at the lewd girl in shock. She seized the opportunity to lurch forward and grab his shirt. He let out a squeak as her hands clawed up his neck towards his hair in an attempt to kiss him. "Lady! Stop! Hey! No, don't _touch_ that! Stop-wait-are you ok? Lady? Can you stand? Do you need help?"

"Adam! Move! Come on!" Connie screamed over the loud music that was playing. "Leave her!"

"But-" Adam yelled desperately as he supported the bent over girl. "Connie! What's wrong with her?"

"Let go of her, you utter MORON!" Connie shrieked, cursing his gentlemanly actions. _This _was _not_ the time or place for his misplaced manners! "Damn it, Banks! Move _away! _She's gonna-"

It was too late.

Time seemed to stop as Adam noticed the girl suddenly heave and in a huge rush of liquid-y substance, vomit all over him.

"-blow." Connie finished, watching with an almost morbid fascination as she saw her comrade-in-arms swiftly drown in a sea of bile.

* * *

As Christina Howard stood in one of the hippest restaurants in Minneapolis, she felt like she was drowning. All her senses seemed to dull, as the pounding of her heart seemed to rush into her ears. That's all she could hear. Her rapid heartbeat and an intensifying roar that buzzed through her entire body.

She couldn't breathe.

There was a dull ache in her chest.

She was seeing spots.

God _damn_, she couldn't hear anything!

She couldn't hear anything except a wild howling in her ears.

Was she going insane?

No, that was ridiculous.

She was a Howard. No member of the Howard family went insane.

Was she still standing?

No…she wasn't. Was she?

Wait…she was walking. Yes, one foot in front of the other.

_Stop! I don't want to do this!_ She screamed in the prison of her mind, trying to force her feet to stop moving. Her voice seemed to echo through the suddenly unfamiliar vaults of her psyche. It was useless.

A couple more steps would bring her to the cause of her draining energy.

One…

_No!_ She sobbed, helpless to stop her feet. _Please…no, I can't do this!_

Two.

She stood in front of him, as he still hadn't looked up from his ministrations to the other girl. She just stood there, her face pale and her eyes too bright. Noticing her and her hopeless silence, the maitre d' raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat. "Mr. Royce?"

The young man lifted his head, smiling at the man. "Yes? Is our table ready?"

The maitre d' just gestured to the silent Christina.

"…Christina." Brian breathed, his eyes going wide. "Christina…what are you doing here? I thought you were staying at Princeton for fall break?"

She was breaking yet her voice was calm and even when she spoke. "I came back…to see you, actually. You seem surprised. I take it, you're not too happy to see me?"

"Christina…this isn't what it looks like." He stammered, dropping his arm from the girl's waist. "Chris…please, let me explain."

"Don't. You know…I'm glad I came back. If I hadn't, I probably would never have found out, wouldn't I?" Her tone was light, almost conversational. It stood in direct contrast to the one tear that slowly slid down her smooth cheek.

She heard Maddie's desperate cry of "Dylan, go!" far away and felt her brother spring into action.

"Chris…Stop it." Brian said, ignoring the sputtering outrage of his new girl. "Chris-"

"I'll see you around, Brian." Christina said quietly, giving him a watery smile and slowly pushing past him out of the restaurant. She didn't expect him to follow her out and she _definitely_ didn't expect the iron grasp of his fingers to clamp around her delicate wrist. "Let go of me."

"_Don't_ walk away from me." He hissed, tightening his grip. He was so intent on clamping harder that he didn't see the blow coming until he was spun about by the impact. "What the _fuck-_"

"Don't _touch_ her." Dylan Howard growled, towering over him with fists clenched in fury.

Christina looked at him, with tears now uncontrollably streaming down her face. When had he grown up? She had been wrong. He _had_ grown up. Between his sophomore and junior year, he had grown up.

And she had missed it. Because she had been infatuated with something that had turned out to be a serious mistake on her part.

"Go inside, Dylan." Why was she so calm? Why the _hell_ was she so damn _calm_?

"No." He ground out rebelliously, still looking at Brian. He was obviously itching for a fight.

"Get up, Royce. Your date is waiting." Christina tried a different tactic. "It looks like you have a table now."

Brian Royce straightened, his eyes glinting maliciously. Without a word, only a scathing glare, he stalked back into the restaurant.

"Tina?" She turned to look at her baby brother. "Hey, Buddy. I think I'm going to head on home. I'll see you later. Go take care of Maddie."

"No need." A soft voice said. Turning to look at the owner, the two saw Maddie standing there with a sad smile on her face. "I put down some money for our meals. I'm going back to Eden Hall."

"Alone?" Christina asked, tears still streaming down her face. "No, Dylan, go with her. It's not safe."

"But-" Maddie objected before she was silenced by Dylan.

Dylan knew his sister very well and he knew that she needed time alone. So he decided not to be a dick for once and granted her solitude. "Alright. Call me tomorrow. Come on, Maggot."

Christina let out a trembling, falsetto laugh as she waved them down the street. Turning in the other direction, she walked to her car which was parked quite a bit away. She stumbled across the sidewalk.

She was getting dizzy.

Her legs didn't seem to want to support her.

Gritting her teeth, Christina strode down the next block. Just get across to the next side and her car would be right there. Just wait for the light to change.

Just wait…the light turned green.

She stepped down, ready to walk across.

She didn't see the car coming too fast, obviously not intending to stop.

* * *

Goldberg stopped chewing. "Guys, shut up."

His redheaded roommate threw him a look. "Not again, Goldberg. It's _over_."

"No!" Goldberg scowled exasperatedly. "Listen."

There was silence as the Ducks strained to hear what was happening. "Goldie, I don't hear anything-" Charlie began before Julie hushed him.

"Is that…"

"Kelly _Clarkson_?" Luis finished, looking bewildered at the butchered lyrics wafting down the hall. "What the-"

Ken had already stood up and moved to the door. "Oh bloody _Hell_."

As the remaining Ducks spilled into the hallway, they were met with the appearance of a certain Dean Portman dressed in nothing but a garbage bag, leaning heavily on a red faced Connie Moreau. She was panting with the exertion of keeping him walking and the steady stream of curses coming from her mouth.

"Dear _God, _Portman!" Connie hissed, noticing the rest of the gaping hockey team had milled out onto the hallway. _Nice to know that they want to help_, she thought sarcastically.

"Fulton! Don't you dare take that bag off!" She heard Adam yelp from behind her. The poor boy was covered in vomit and had his hands full of Fulton, who apparently was a closet exhibitionist. If the situation wasn't so damn irritating, Connie would have been rolling on the ground in hysterics by now.

"Connieeee! Connie, I love you! You're so nice…you're like my mom…only younger. And tinier." Portman grinned, his eyes skimming over suddenly to the assembled Ducks. "It's a party! Connie, look! It's a party!"

Connie bit her lip as she got the door open to Suite 302. And immediately groaned upon seeing the inhabitants.

"Hey, lookie! Look! Texas is getting some!" Portman chortled, blinking owlishly at a red faced Dwayne and an unfazed Allie. "They don't even have _shirts_ on! Haha, it's like you and Charlie!"

Outside, Charlie Conway gulped as his ears turned suspiciously red.

"Portman! Get into bed!" Connie snarled, struggling through the sitting room and kicking open the door to the boys' bedroom. She finally managed to dump him onto his bed with a swift kick under his ankles. "Portman-Portman, no! Stay!"

"I'm not sleepy!" Portman slurred before falling back onto his pillows. He mumbled quietly to himself before passing out.

"Come on, Fult." Connie turned to see a harassed looking Adam stumble into the room. "Come on, the bed's right there. Yes, that's very nice. No, I don't eat tree bark."

She hurriedly rushed over to push off the hockey gear that littered the surface of the bed. "Come on, Fulton. It's sleep time."

Fulton was dumped onto the bed in the same manner as Portman. "Hi, Connie!"

"Hello, dear." She said dryly.

"If I was an animal, I'd be a bear."

"I see. Now be a good boy and go to sleep. Say bye to Adam."

The muscular hockey player blinked. Turning to the fellow combatant against booze, he beckoned him closer. "Banks? Banks! Come here!"

Adam sighed as he walked back over to Fulton's bed. "Yes?"

"You…" Fulton started, trying to focus his eyes. "Thanks, man."

"No problem. Sleep it off, ok?" Adam said before the other boy grabbed the front of his vomit soaked shirt. "Fulton, you _don't_ want to touch me right now."

"Dude," Fulton said quite seriously. "I've noticed something."

"Really?" Adam asked, a little unnerved by the fierceness of his teammate's statement.

"You…you look like a wolf."

And with that solemn declaration, Fulton too, fell back on his pillows and started snoring loudly. Adam stared at him in shock. This was _ridiculous_. He turned to look at an equally exhausted Connie, who placed a trashcan by Fulton's head. She gave him a crooked smile.

"In case he throws up." She wrinkled her nose. "You need to take a shower, burn those clothes, and get some sleep."

"_Burn_?"

"You honestly want to _keep_ that sweatshirt?"

Adam grunted.

"Come on, Wolf boy. Get moving." Connie grinned cheekily.

* * *

Scott Pendleton blinked. "I guess this is the end to the night."

While apologizing profusely, his date for the evening had gathered her things, thrown a couple bills down, given the finger to their neighboring table and swept out of the restaurant in one, graceful swirl. To her credit, everyone had been too stunned to make much sense of what had been going on.

Did this much drama _always_ surround the Ducks?

"Yes." Alicia replied moodily. "You have no idea."

Scott looked over at her, realizing he must have said his question out loud. "Oh." The girl looked rather distressed as she gazed at her own date's conspicuously empty seat. "Well…good thing we're rid of that lot, isn't it then."

She let out a tinkling laugh. "I guess so…listen…why don't we go for some ice cream?" she asked, brightening considerably.

Pursing his lips, Scott looked over at her. She was pretty enough and her constant stream of babble was rather endearing. He could do a lot worse, in all honesty. "Sure…why not?"

"Oh would you look at that? The two rejects have found true love." Emily Parker sneered from the next table, seeming to have regained her speech. Her insult went unheeded as the two rose up and left, not even registering her remarks.

Tricia stared at the candle on the table in shock. "Did we just…get…_ignored_?"

Gritting her teeth, Emily threw back the rest of her drink. "Shut up, Manning."

* * *

It had been completely reflexive.

He had just stepped out of the store when he had seen the girl about to cross the street. She was unsteady and didn't heed the noise that the speeding car was making as it sped towards her. Cursing drunken teenagers, he had practically run towards her.

When questioned about his actions later, he wouldn't have been able to tell you what exactly happened in those few seconds. All he knew was, with a swift yank, he had pulled the girl away from the curb and had an armful of pure female to show for it.

He looked down at the stunned girl. Her dark blonde hair was tousled and there were tearstains on her cheeks. She didn't _seem_ drunk. There were no distinctive scents of alcohol drifting up from her. After what seemed like an eternity, she opened her eyes to show off irises of pure, molten silver.

No, she wasn't drunk.

The man was no stranger to the look of heartache in her eyes. It reached out to him, almost suffocating him with its raw emotion. He practically _felt_ her pain. And then she spoke.

"Thank you…I-I'm not f-feeling too w-well."

"Are you alright? Do you need help?"

"No." Her melodic voice seemed to grow stronger as she gave him a tremulous smile full of gratitude. "Thank you very much. I owe you one."

And then somehow, she was gone.

The man groaned. He hadn't come back from his final year of college to get worked up over a girl. And it seemed that he would be. The girl's face was already ingrained in his mind and he just _knew_ he was going to spend all vacation brooding about her.

It was a bad trait that his family had. They tended to brood like no other.

"Drew!" He turned to see his little sister, Angie, rolling down the window and looking irritated beyond belief. "Come _on_! Mom expected us back twenty minutes ago!"

With a sigh, Andrew Banks turned on his heel and jogged towards the car.

* * *

The night was over.

The realization had struck Maddie during the silent bus ride back to Eden Hall. Dylan had been tense with suppressed emotions and the night's dramatic events had brought upon a rarely seen pensive side of her.

But the fact remained that the night was _over_.

It was time to concentrate on what _really _mattered.

She stretched, looking around the empty dance studio. Hell, the whole Arts _building_ was empty. Maddie had to admit that walking in the silent and dark hallways to get to the studio had been one of the creepiest feelings she had had in a while.

But what did she expect? It was ten o' clock on a Friday night; no one in their right mind would be in the studio.

Maddie stared at her reflection as her deft fingers quickly pulled her hair back into a familiar bun. Her leggings and leotard all screamed comfort to her. Reaching down, she straightened her legwarmers.

_You're stalling._ The guiding voice in her mind quietly reprimanded her. _You have barely a month to do this. You need to have three routines down by December. You're in the big leagues now, sugar. You're going up against people from all over the _world.

She clenched her teeth as she performed her final stretches.

_You're going to have to work harder than you ever had to before_.

Getting up, she moved over to plug in her iPod.

_Tell me…do you want this?_

Maddie selected the playlist.

_How _badly _do you want this?_

She took her position on the floor and stared at her reflection. The determination in her eyes gave her tired face new strength.

_Well then… the only question that remains is…are you ready_?

"No…but I will be." Maddie said quietly. And she raised her arms in position.

* * *

Dean Buckley was enjoying his Monday morning cup of coffee when he was interrupted by his secretary. "Dean Buckley, sir?"

"A bit early, isn't it, Meredith?" He asked jovially, putting the mug down. It was shaping up to be a beautiful, sunny autumn morning. He could just feel it. "How can I help you?"

"Carmen Rivera is here to see you, sir." The aging woman said with a little sniff of disapproval.

"Well, send her in, send her in." Dean Buckley sighed, waving his hand. "It's not like we can tell _her_ what to do."

A few moments later, Carmen slipped into the office, looking quite blasé about the meeting. "Dean."

"Yes, yes. Please…sit down."

"Thank you."

"Miss Rivera, please explain to me why you are not in-" He squinted at her school profile he was holding in his hand. "-Mr. Akhmedov's Intermediate Arabic language class at the moment?"

"There's a substitute. We're currently coloring the different Arabic speaking countries of the world. It was all very fascinating but I excused myself on the basis of my color-blindness." Carmen answered coolly, clearly indicating that under no circumstances would she have missed an _actual_ Arabic class to speak with him.

"Miss Rivera, you are _not_ color blind."

"Indeed." Carmen replied absently, opening her black leather satchel and pulling out a folder. "I have something extremely important to discuss with you."

"As always." Dean Buckley responded rather grumpily. Was there _ever_ something not important to discuss? The girl had her fingers in too many things for him to keep track. Sullenly, he took the folder and opened it. "And what, pray tell, is this?"

"I've found a replacement coach for the hockey team, sir. Of course, final approval _will_ come from you." She said, the epitome of smooth. She could afford to be gracious…after all, she _had_ just ousted him once again.

Carmen Rivera – 17 ; Dean Buckley – 2

* * *

It was strangely like déjà vu.

The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the windows of the rink and the team inadvertently had placed themselves in a straight line. And yet, while there had been an uneasy, rebellious silence during Wilson's inspection, this silence was due to plain confusion.

Carmen crossed her arms from her spot on the bleachers as she watched Dean Buckley walk out onto the ice with a rather imposing man in tow. She frowned. The pictures that had come along with his bio had been misleading. _Extremely_ misleading. She had thought this guy would look younger. At least twenty years younger, in fact.

Straining to hear what they were saying, Carmen finally moved down closer to the ice. She _did_ have an investment in this team, so she _deserved_ to hear what was going on.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen…and ladies." Dean Buckley said, beaming at Connie and Julie fondly. "I'm glad you were all able to make it out this afternoon. I'm sure you're all excited to meet your new coach so…"

The Ducks' attention focused on the dignified looking old man who towered above their Dean. He was tall and broad shouldered, with snowy white hair and bright, hazel eyes that were younger than his years. He stepped forward. "Noah Colbert. It's an honor to be here." He said mildly, looking around at the assembled group with interest.

_He's like Father Christmas_. Dwayne thought in wonder, unable to take his eyes off his new coach.

"Well then, I'm going to let you kids get acquainted with each other. After all, there's a lot of time you have to catch up on! Make Eden Hall proud!" Dean Buckley smiled, waving good bye.

Carmen rolled her eyes. This was their Dean of Students. Mr. Trevor Buckley, the Jolly Bouncing Jelly Bean. She could hardly hold back the sneer from her face.

Charlie was the first to break the silence. "Colbert…as in _the_ Noah Colbert?" He asked, looking almost choked with awe.

"That was a long time ago. I'm apparently just a coach now." Their new coach said cheerfully. "I take it you have a game scheduled this week?" Upon seeing their nods, he continued. "I hope you don't mind but I had that pushed back a week. Just so we can get familiar with each other. Now then, let's get started. I must say, I'm excited to see what you're capable of. Now how about…yes, that should do."

* * *

"I can't believe you got us Noah Colbert!"

"Don't wet yourself, Conway." Carmen answered irritably, not taking her eyes off her book.

"I mean, the guy's a legend!" Adam picked up where Charlie had left off. The two had stalked Carmen back into her dorm room, much to her annoyance, and seemed to have no inclination to leave. Yes, she had gotten them a rather legendary hockey star as their new coach but really, enough was enough. She had homework to do and lives to ruin.

"Why don't you boys go find Maddie and tell _her_ about it?" Carmen suggested exasperatedly.

"We don't know where she is. She's been MIA for the past few days."

"Yeah, if we knew where she was, we'd tell her but we don't. And today's _practice_-"

"Yeah, practice…man, _practice_…"

"Can you say the most eye-opening experience of my life?"

"He _knows_, man, he _knows_ what it's like to be _out_ there!"

"Everything he said! Totally spot on! He'd known us for what…_one_ practice, and he already could figure out what was wrong…and he memorized all of our names!"

"I can't believe he's actually here teaching us!"

"Did you _see _the guy at the 1975 Winter Olympics? He was incredible!"

"And when he did that wrist thing-"

"Dartmouth, Class of '71! Was made captain his sophomore year and _dominated_ the other schools!"

"He came out of retirement for _us_. I can't believe this!" Charlie exclaimed, his eyes over bright.

She scowled, even more irked by her assumption of the man's age. "There was a damn _reason_ why he was in retirement for the past ten years. After all, he looks like a decrepit nursing home patient. If his damn file pictures weren't so misleading, I wouldn't even have contacted him." She snarled.

Adam blinked. "He looks to be in prime health." He offered mildly.

"He's sixty. I don't if you two imbeciles realize this, but that's _old_."

"_Old _equals experience, Car. You're the one who approached him, anyway. Why the doubts now?" Charlie asked, still looking overly excited.

"I didn't expect him to _look_ that old." Carmen growled, wondering when the two would just get _out _of her room.

"He looks dignified…stately, if you will."

"Yeah, and he's awfully nice too. All jolly and shit…oh, is _that_ why you're all touchy right now?"

"Excuse me?"

Charlie surveyed her closely as if gauging her response. "You don't like him because he's jolly?"

"Stop staring at me like that, Conway, you look constipated. And yes, I did _not_ expect him to be that jolly and I did _not_ expect him to look that old!" She said huffily, feeling a blinding headache come towards her.

"It's not like it's a problem, is it?" Adam asked, leaning back.

"Of course it's a problem!" Carmen snapped, looking extremely irritated. "Everyone knows the older you are, the harder you are to manipulate! And that old man doesn't look at _all_ controllable."

There was a delicate silence as the two hockey players stared at the golden haired girl in shock. Then Adam grinned. "Carmen, there are occasions when you're actually adorable."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "_What_ did you just call me?"

* * *

"Hey, Jules. Have you seen Maddie?"

Julie looked up. "You're the fifth person to ask me that. And quite honestly, I have no idea."

Goldberg sighed, rubbing his sore arms ruefully. All this training that Banks was making him do was starting to take its toll on him. The guy was merciless.

"Why do you need her?"

"I need a power point presentation ready by tomorrow and unfortunately, I don't know how to start." Goldberg finished with a huff. "Where _is_ she? I haven't seen her this whole _week_."

"Ask Ken. He knows how to do them. He helped me with mine." Julie advised, before shrugging. "I don't know where she's been. I just see her at meals now. Maybe she's studying. She does have SATs coming up, you know."

"Maybe. Hey, did you go to the Health Center yet?"

Julie nodded. "Yeah, this morning. You should hurry up, the place is packed."

Coach Colbert had asked them all to do the annual checkups that the medical office provided. Usually, the Ducks, like most of the other athletes in the school, ignored them and only went to the Health Center when they were actually sick. It was a relatively comfortable system.

But this year, for some reason, the Center had made it mandatory for anyone participating in some kind of physical activity, to receive a checkup. Hell, even the dancers and the _equestrian _team had to do it.

Grumbling, the Ducks had slowly gone in little groups, obviously not wanting to deal with the talkative doctors. And Julie was pretty sure that Goldberg would put off going til the last minute. He hated doctors with a passion ever since they had told him to lay off the sweets due to his obesity.

He, of course, had ignored them, declaring that all that sterilization had gone to their brains.

* * *

"Man, this blows." Russ complained, flopping himself onto a chair and grumpily staring at the sheet of paper, detailing his physical health. "I like to eat. So what?"

Dylan tossed him a lopsided grin as he pulled his pants on. The two had come into the Health Center for the annual checkups and Russ had been told, _once again_, that he was overweight. The loudmouth had then proceeded to be incredibly huffy and scared away the attending nurse with his profanity. Not that Dylan had minded. The woman had been _extremely_ touchy. "Whatever. It's over."

"Oh easy for _you_ to say." The black kid griped, smoothing his shirt out. "They weren't telling _you_ you're fat, Mr. Soccer Star. The nurse was just _itching _to get her hands on you."

"She was as old as my mom! It's not like I wanted the attention!"

Russ glowered at him. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Trying not to laugh."

"Russ, baby, I would _never_ laugh at you." The blond boy said solemnly although his sparkling grey eyes told a whole different story.

"Don't call me baby. And put your damn shirt on." Russ growled. "And man…where are my kicks?"

"We must have left them in the back there…along with my shirt." Dylan said with a groan. Great, he had to go back and get molested again. The consequences of being too good looking were starting to catch up with him. "Come on…solidarity in numbers."

"No need, gentlemen." The two boys turned to see their resident doctor, Dr. Boyle, come out with their belongings. "You left these in the examination room."

"Thank you, sir."

"No problem, no problem at all." The chatty doctor peered over the edge of his steel rimmed glasses. "You know, you shouldn't concern yourself too much with the obesity."

Russ almost groaned out loud. Could the guy _possibly_ give it a rest?

"I mean, it's almost a welcome change, considering I've had a straight row of underweight patients." Dr. Boyle continued to babble on, ignoring Russ and Dylan's pointed silences. "I mean, one girl who was in here today had shot up an _inch_ since last year but hadn't gained _any _weight at all!"

"Really." Russ ground out.

"Yes, shocking isn't it?" The physician nodded emphatically, seeming intent on finishing his story. "I mean, really five feet eight inches and 112 pounds? It's not healthy! But then again…she was one of those dancer girls…brainwashed, the lot of them."

Dylan stiffened in the act of reaching for his shirt. He had only been giving the doctor half his attention but his words suddenly registered in his mind. And judging from the look on Russ' face, he had started listening closely as well. After all, how many tall, skinny dancers did Eden Hall have?

"This girl…" Dylan started, cutting into Dr. Boyle's tirade against brainwashed ballerinas. "What was her name?"

"Oh I can't tell you her name. It's against hospital policy!" Dr. Boyle laughed, seeming very amused at Dylan's ignorance. "Besides, she was most upset at being told the news. I doubt she wants to be lectured. She practically ran out of here."

Russ stood up and watched Dylan warily. The boy had completely forgotten about putting on his shirt as he stood staring at the doctor. "Sir…was this girl Asian?"

Dr. Boyle stopped laughing to ponder. "Why yes, yes she was. But how did you know-"

It fell on deaf ears as Dylan Howard was currently pushing his way down the hallway with murder in his expression.

Russ sighed. "Dylan, you forgot your shirt!"

There was a muffled "Fuck!" as the L.A. native watched a still furious Dylan run back and snatch the article of clothing from his hands. The whole hallway stopped what it was doing to see the soccer player run through, yanking the shirt on over his head.

"_Blonds_…_what to do with them?_" Russ thought, looking appraisingly at a puzzled looking Dr. Boyle, who incidentally also happened to blond.

* * *

"Look, Charlie. You just take that polynomial and factor it." Connie Moreau explained patiently. "Do you understand that?"

Charlie furrowed his brow as he tried to comprehend the material. "I…think so."

"Good. Here try this problem on page-" Connie never got to finish her sentence as the door to her bedroom suddenly slammed open and a tousled looking Dylan Howard barged in. "Well, hi to you too."

"Maggot." He said through gritted teeth. "Where is she?"

Charlie scratched his head in confusion. "You know…I don't really know. I haven't seen her in a while."

"Aaargh!" Dylan snarled, slamming the door shut on his way out.

Connie stared at the closed door in shock. Turning to Charlie, she wasn't surprised to see that his gum had fallen out of his mouth. "Gum, Charlie."

"What? Oh, sorry." He mumbled, putting it back into his mouth, much to Connie's consternation. "Did you ever realize that Dylan and Carmen are a lot alike? Temper-wise?"

"For your own protection, I'd suggest you don't go around repeating that around Carmen."

* * *

Dylan was in a high temper as he stalked through the corridor of the Arts building. He had spent the last half hour looking for his miscreant friend and for some reason, he hadn't calmed down. Somehow the fact that he didn't know where she was added to his anger and he was now imagining various ways of slapping some sense into her. Not that he would ever hit a girl.

But then again, when had Maggot ever really _counted_ as a girl?

Finally, he had come to the Arts building, which was rather stupid on his part. He should've checked this place _first_. Where else could she have gone?

His suspicions were confirmed as he turned the corner and heard the sounds of classical music drifting down the deserted hallway. His lip curled in triumph as he recognized the sounds of Tchaikovsky. How that girl loved her Russian composers. Her _dead_ Russian composers.

She was going to join them in a matter of minutes.

Looking through the small window in the door, Dylan saw the object of his search dancing all by herself. He smiled sinisterly as he kicked the door open.

"_You!_"

Maddie froze as she saw his disheveled self in the doorway. _Good, she's scared_. Dylan thought before ripping open the package in his hand. Pulling out a cheeseburger, he advanced upon the confused looking girl, brandishing it in front of him like a weapon.

"Dylan, what's goi-"

"As of this moment your vegetarian privileges are retracted! Now eat it!"

"What! Ew, no! Get that away from me!"

"Eat it!" He yelled, chasing her around the studio. They froze as both of them noticed the other door on the far wall. "Don't you even _think-_"

It was too late. Maddie had already made a dash for it.

Normally, Dylan was not used to doing these things to girls. After all, they were significantly weaker than him. And besides, he didn't want to get his hands dirty. Grunt work was for people beneath him. But Miss Madison Lola Kim had irritated every last bone on his body and did not qualify as a girl anymore. She came closer to a monster.

And so, dropping the cheeseburger back into its container, Dylan ran after her and brought her down in a spectacular tackle worthy of the NFL.

* * *

Charlie narrowed his eyes as he jotted down another note down. "What happened to their right wing defense again?"

Guy looked up. "He graduated. Coach had to replace them with freshmen."

"Perfect." Charlie smiled, extremely satisfied. "We'll sic Portman on them early on."

"Not too early." Ken warned. "After all, they _are _just freshman."

"True, true." Their captain murmured distractedly, scanning the Blake Academy's official roster sheet again. Whoever had said that Charlie wasn't a dedicated captain deserved to be shot. He had been poring over the Blake team's statistics for the past five days, trying to learn everything he possibly could about their opponent.

If they didn't beat Blake…there was no telling just _what_ he was going to do to himself.

Guy bit his lip as his hand sped across a piece of paper. "Alright…here's what it boils down to. Ridgewood trounced Blake last week. So if we beat Blake…we're playing Ridgewood again in a month."

Charlie rubbed his eyes tiredly. "There is no _if_, Guy. We have to win."

"Relax, Charlie." Ken Wu said comfortingly. "Save your worry for Ridgewood when we go up against them next month."

"That's the spirit." Charlie grinned. "Besides, we have _Noah Colbert_ as our coach."

Nodding affirmatively, Guy leaned back in his seat. "Yeah, that's true. Besides…do you know how much shit we'd be in if we _didn't_ win? After all that trouble she went through trying to find us a coach? Carmen would _kill_ us."

Charlie paled. He hadn't even taken that new pressure into _consideration_.

* * *

"I can sit here _all_ day."

"I'm not eating that."

"Well you sure as hell gonna eat something in front of me! And that something better be comprised of meat and carbs!" Dylan growled. He was currently sitting on his best friend, who in turn was sprawled out on her stomach, on the floor of Studio C in the Bolton Building for the Arts. How was that for a caption?

"What's with the sudden focus on my dietary habits?" Maddie scowled, panting slightly as she got the breath pushed out of her by Dylan's much heavier body. "Good god, how much do you _weigh_?"

Dylan gave a slight bounce in retribution for that remark, to which she promptly groaned and cursed the living daylights out of him. "You know…funny you should mention _weight_. I was in the Health Center earlier today and our extremely talkative doctor just happened to mention something about a tall, underweight dancer. Who also happened to be _Asian_. Gee, I wonder who that could be? How many Asians are in this school anyway? Oh I don't know…maybe forty? And how many of them dance? To my rather vast knowledge…one. Oh dear lord! I guess he was talking about _you_. Would you like to know what he said?"

Maddie froze as his words sunk in. "Dylan, stop it. I don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad." He snarled. "Why the sudden concern on weight, Maddie? Dr. Boyle said that you practically _ran_ out in tears. Since _when_ do _you_ care about how much you weigh? And not only that but you're only _112_ _pounds_ for Christ's sakes! I can _bench_ more than you!"

There was silence as Maddie looked down at the floor. Dylan strained to see her face. And then, she spoke with a small, sad voice. "I don't gain weight easily. We've discussed this. You _know_ I don't have an eating disorder. You've _seen_ me eat regular meals. I'm not going to gain weight until my metabolism slows down and you know it."

"Why were you so upset then."

"Get off of me for a sec, Dyl?" When he grudgingly obliged, she sat up and drew her knees to her chest. "I grew."

"Excuse me?"

"I grew another fucking _inch_, Dylan! I'm 5' 8"!" Maddie let out a hiccup as two tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. "I can't afford to grow anymore."

_This is insanity_, Dylan thought, trying to infer what she was getting at. "Mads, I don't understand. So what if you grew? You're tall. It's easier to look down on people that way."

She slowly looked at him, with watery brown eyes. Dylan _hated_ when she looked like this. All vulnerable and sad. _That face shouldn't be legal._

"Dylan, every inch I grow puts me a little farther away from dancing." Maddie whispered, looking as woebegone as Oliver Twist. "I'm a _giant_."

And Dylan finally understood. Ballerinas were usually supposed to be an average height or shorter. The ones above average height had problems with occasionally being taller than their male counterparts and being able to be lifted, not to mention, had less room to move than their smaller coworkers. Madame Beaufont had blessed her heavens that she had managed to find such a tall, strong lead dancer in Dylan. But he was the exception. He was able to lift Maddie with ease and his leg span was just as wide as hers.

"Mads…it's not always the case." He said desperately, knowing her dreams were crumbling down around her. "You're amazing."

"It doesn't matter, does it? No one would hire me. And even if they did, they'd have to put a girl who's just as "amazing" as me but smaller, out in front." Maddie sobbed bitterly.

"Stop that." Dylan said sternly. Searching around for something to say, he came across another irritation. Before he could stop himself, he had blurted it out. "Oh by the way, mind telling me why you're here? You've been avoiding everyone!"

To his dismayed surprise, that just made her cry harder. "Maddie, baby! Stop! Just tell me what's going on!"

She gulped as she hurriedly tried to stop her crying. These emotional bouts she kept experiencing were getting rather ridiculous. She had never cried this much in her life. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she wiped her eyes and managed to speak. "I haven't been avoiding everyone. I've been working."

"On what? We don't even know what we're performing yet!" Dylan said perplexedly.

"No, Dipshit." Maddie rolled her eyes before looking at her best friend with unease. It was obvious that she wasn't comfortable with divulging this information so he glared at her, blatantly reminding her who her sole confidante was. "The program with Marina Pavlova. I'm applying."

Dylan's eyes widened. "Oh."

Marina Pavlova was a famous Russian ballerina, who was considered one of the greatest dancers in the world. Now teaching at the Vaganova School, which was the choreography department of the Mariinsky Ballet, she and some of her colleagues took about sixty advanced students every summer to engage in an intense eight week program. Dylan remembered hearing that _at least_ a couple hundred hopefuls from all over the world applied, hoping to get those coveted spots. He also remembered hearing that each one of the applicants was required to have several glowing recommendations from renowned and established teachers.

"That's why I've been here this whole time." She whispered. "I'm preparing and even then, I don't know if I'm going to make it."

Her best friend nodded absently in comprehension, trying to wrap his mind around the idea. No wonder Maddie had been holed up in here. That program was probably going to be one of the most competitive things she was going to do in her _life_! But then suddenly, he realized a more pressing problem. "But Maggot! That's in St. Petersburg! Russia! You're going to _leave_ me?!"

Maddie stared. "I haven't gotten in."

"Oh don't be silly, of course you're going to get in." Dylan said airily, standing up. "I just can't believe you're willing to ditch me. Ah well, if that's what you want…No matter, come on, start boogieing, time is of the essence. We've got a lot of work to do."

"We?"

"Of course, _we_." He glared at her, annoyed at her idiocy. "You need to start learning those routines and I need to start mixing some music for you. Oh you don't need this right?" He walked over and picked up the greasy cheeseburger. "Good thing, the grease has all congealed. Anyway, work hard, my dear! I'll bring around a tofu casserole for you later! Smooches!" And with that, the irrepressible blond sailed out the door.

Maddie hadn't moved from her shocked position on the floor. That boy was completely consistent in his inconsistencies.

* * *

Julie Gaffney took a deep breath as she stepped into the locker room. She was comforted to see some of the Ducks already in there, suiting up for the game. Tensions were running high as all of Eden Hall's attention was focused on the game against Blake. Considering that today was Halloween, it was almost flattering and not a little nerve-wracking that more people were talking about this game than the holiday. It was time to make or break.

Quietly, she went into the separate partition that was set up for her and Connie and began to undress. Her ankle was practically healed as were most of their bruises and she was feeling rather vengeful. Her athletic pride had taken quite a beating and Julie didn't deal well with humiliation.

She tightened her laces viciously, already preparing her mind into a state of complete annihilation. Julie slipped her undershirt over her head, stretching her muscles.

Oh, she was so ready. And unfortunately, she didn't have a thought of mercy in her brain.

You almost had to feel sorry for those Blake kids.

* * *

Maddie took a deep breath as she sipped some water. Once again, she was in the studio. But the difference remained that it was Halloween…and she wasn't going to celebrate it. And it was the hockey game against Blake…and she wasn't going. She just didn't have the _time_.

She pushed the guilt she felt aside and picked herself up. The Ducks had understood when she told them that she was unable to go. Maddie had _almost_ started crying again but caught herself just in time. She was working on the whole controlling one's emotions thing, ok?

Just then, the door to the studio opened and Dylan walked in. "Hey."

"Hey, why aren't you at the game? Isn't it going to start soon?" She asked, rubbing her sore muscles.

"I'm on my way there right now. But here…" Dylan held out a couple CDs. "It's for that modern dance piece you have to do. I mixed that Tchaikovsky with some Jay-Z, a bit of Vivaldi with Sean Paul, and some Prokofiev with a touch of Chris Breezy. Occasional hints of jazz in some tracks as well. Look through it, see what you like."

Maddie took them with shaking hands. "You didn't have to do this…"

"Don't be stupid, of course I did." The blond declared with a smug smile, tossing his hair out of his eyes. "You need something that's gonna set you apart and this music is going to help. Now, I have a hockey game to go to and a Halloween party to crash. I'll see you tomorrow, my dear." And brushing a kiss on the top of her head, he sailed out the door.

Maddie's lower lip trembled.

"And don't you even _think_ about crying." Dylan's head popped back in, looking quite cross. "Christ, what do I need to do to get you to quit blubbering…hormone pills or something…" he muttered before slamming the door shut.

* * *

Goldberg wheezed as he skated back to the bench. It was the end of the second period and the Ducks were doing rather well. "Rather" being the operative word. They were only leading by four points and the Ducks wanted there to be twice that number between them and the opposing team.

But somehow, Blake was slightly better than they had expected. Goldberg could only imagine how much Charlie was beating himself up about it.

"I can't move my legs." Goldberg moaned, shoving Connie aside so he could sit down.

"On the ice!" Coach Colbert called, motioning for the players to take their positions on the ice and ignoring the flashing of cameras in his direction. The man had been quietly showing them the weaknesses of the other team that only a trained eye could see and the Ducks were infinitely grateful for his help.

"Goldberg, stop being so dramatic." Connie snapped, her eyes not moving from the game in front of her. "You're not even hurt."

Coach Colbert turned around to peer at Goldberg. The distinguished old man looked strangely at home in his surroundings, dressed as he was in a pressed black suit and shiny shoes. The hazel eyes were cheerfully twinkling as they took in the appearance of a whimpering Goldberg. "Are you tired, Greg?"

"A little, sir. They're running circles around us." Goldberg said, wincing as he moved to a more comfortable position. He was slightly uneasy at the way Coach Colbert always addressed them by their first names. It was unnatural.

"Really."

"Yes, really." Goldberg snapped, annoyed at the serene tone of his coach's voice. Did the man _ever_ get excited?

Coach Colbert continued to gaze at him through sparkling, hazel eyes. "That's odd. Mr. Bombay must have been mistaken. I had no idea you'd be this weary after two periods."

"Wouldn't you, sir?" The former goalie asked, turning slightly red.

"Perhaps." Their coach shrugged elegantly before turning to watch the game. "But I'm rather old and fragile. You're in the peak of youth and virility. I'd have thought you had much more stamina."

"I have plenty of stamina!" Goldberg burst out.

The old man spared him a glance. "Do you?"

"Yes!"

"Would that mean you're willing to play some more?"

"Willing to play – I'll show you plays! Bring it on!"

"Well, that's settled then." Coach Colbert said cheerfully before opening the door. "Change it up! Come on, Greg, show me your stamina!"

"Stamina – I'll show you stamina…" Goldberg muttered rebelliously, stomping over to the ice. The look of amused satisfaction in his coach's eyes went unnoticed as he promptly barreled over the Blake's center.

"My, the boy is strong, isn't he?" Coach Colbert marveled mildly to no one in particular.

A few rows behind him, Carmen Rivera crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Who knew he'd be just as good at manipulating people as her? Carmen _really_ didn't know how she felt about this guy.

After all, nice people had always freaked her out. And this guy looked to be a regular, anorexic Santa Claus.

* * *

It was just after ten o' clock.

And he came to the conclusion that this was pathetic.

Luis Mendoza scowled as he walked around the four suites that the Ducks inhabited. First had been his own. His Texan roommate was long gone, dragged off by that tiny blonde he called her a girlfriend. True to the holiday, she had been dressed in a skimpy tiger costume. _How apt_, Luis thought with a shudder, as he noted the dominatrix tendencies of the girl. His suitemates, Goldberg and Averman had passed out on their beds, drooling appropriately. It was obvious that the exhausted two weren't waking up until the next day.

Luis had then tried his luck next door. Russ, Portman and Ken were also sleeping. On a Saturday night. On _Halloween_. On a night of their victory against Blake. Was he the only who realized what was wrong with the picture?

He moved on across the hallway and was answered with an empty suite. He had forgotten that Charlie, Adam, Fulton and Guy had gone to a Minnesota Wild game. While Luis loved hockey, he couldn't stomach the thought of more ice after one grueling game. But those four…He wasn't even going to get started on them.

Luis frowned, stepping back from the suite and advancing on to the girl's suite. Knocking, he waited for Julie's voice to give him permission before entering the room. The girls were quite strict with the whole entering without permission thing. The only person who continually broke that rule was Dylan, who was simply incorrigible.

Speak of the Devil.

"Sup." Dylan grinned as he lounged in an armchair. Julie also gave him a smile as she wrote something on a box. "You look faintly irked."

"That's cause no one's _here_." Luis complained, flopping himself onto the sofa. "Everybody's sleeping!"

"Well, it was an exhausting game." Julie murmured, still engaged in writing. "Connie passed out about twenty minutes ago. Maddie's in the studio again and Carmen went to chaperone the dance."

Luis perked up. "The dance?" He had almost forgotten about the annual Halloween dance. That sounded interesting. In any case, there was always underclassmen girls to go after. "So…anyone up for going?"

Giving him that lopsided smile that so many girls had fallen for, Dylan shook his hair out of his eyes. "Of course, I'm going, Rivera's going to be there. And besides, I'm taking over the second half of the dance."

Julie snorted. "I can't believe they're letting you play DJ."

The blond stiffened, looking offended. "I'm _good_. Why won't you believe me?"

"I know you're good." Julie said exasperatedly. "I'm saying I can't believe that they actually got the approval to hire a high school _junior_ to mix a dance."

"They didn't really hire me." Dylan admitted. "I volunteered. I wanted to see if I could do it."

"So you've never done it before?" Luis asked, feeling much better at the prospect of admiring, impressionable, underclassmen girls.

"Only in the comfort of my laptop." Dylan said easily, eyeing Julie, who was surveying her box with a critical eye. "You done?"

Nodding, Julie handed him the box before turning to look at Luis. "You need a costume to get in."

"Right." Luis said, reaching over and ripping a page out of a newspaper. Taping it to his chest, he turned and looked at himself in the mirror. "I'll be the front page news cause I'm hot shit." He announced smugly, rather proud of his brilliant idea.

Julie rolled her eyes and looked over at the now standing Dylan. "Well, aren't you two a bunch of cocky bastards."

"Don't hate, Jules. You sure you don't want to come?" Dylan grinned, combing his fingers through his hair. He wore a blue button down shirt and navy blue shorts, complete with white tube socks and black loafers.

The goalie nodded, stifling a yawn. "I'm going to bed. Try not to break too many hearts tonight."

"Are you supposed to be a postman?" Luis asked, cocking his head, trying to figure out the costume.

"Not quite." Dylan said coolly, pulling on a pair of aviator sunglasses. He then reached over and took the box which had the word **SEXY** written on it in big block letters. "I'm bringing sexy back."

"I wasn't aware sexy was missing." The other boy said, raising an eyebrow.

Dylan sniffed elegantly, balancing the box with one hand. "Of course it was. It was missing since _you_ lost it."

* * *

Adam Banks looked around confusedly as he walked down the main corridor of the Arts Building. _I might be lost_, he grudgingly admitted to himself. He then saw a light at the edge of his vision. _Or maybe not_.

Striding down the hallway, Adam came to what appeared the only occupied room in the whole building. Sure enough, when he looked in, he saw the familiar figure on the floor by the wall. Clearing his throat softly, he slipped into the brightly lit studio.

Maddie looked up at him in surprise. "Hey…what are you doing here?"

"Just came back from the Wilds game and wanted to see if you were still here." Adam smiled, sitting down next to her. "We passed Dylan and he said that you might be here."

"Did he do it?" Maddie asked eagerly, leaning forward. "His costume?"

"You mean was he bringing sexy back?" He asked dryly. "Yeah."

Maddie clapped her hands together delightedly. "I didn't think he would actually do it. Oh and the Blake game?"

"We won by four points." Adam answered, before focusing on her feet. "Maddie, what the hell!"

Feeling confused, she looked towards the objects of his scrutiny. "Oh…" She mumbled, turning slightly red. "They do look pretty bad, don't they?"

"Shit." The hockey player breathed, scooting closer to gaze at them in horror. Pretty bad didn't even begin to cover it. Rubbed red and raw, the once delicate feet were blistered and scabbed. He turned his gaze to Maddie's face. "When Dylan said you were dancing, he obviously neglected to mention how much."

"It's fine." Maddie said, looking at them speculatively. "I've been on my feet every spare minute I have. This was bound to happen. They'll go away soon enough."

Adam blinked, amazed at her dismissive tone. "_Excuse _me?"

"What?"

"They need medical attention."

"Don't be ridiculous, Adam. Every dedicated dancer deals with blistered feet."

"Still, you should go to the Health Center!"

Maddie frowned at him. "Oh shut it, Banks. If it was serious, do you honestly think I wouldn't have gone?"

"_That_ doesn't look serious?"

"No." The slim girl began to pull on socks and started piling all her belongings into her bag. "And don't give me that going-to-the-hospital crap. I heard all about the Junior Goodwill Games and the wrist. Pot and Kettle, Banks."

Adam slightly colored but pressed on determinedly. Scrambling up after Maddie, he persisted. "Don't make my mistakes, Maddie. And I was young and stupid then."

"As opposed to now?" She threw him an impish grin as she hoisted her rather large bag from the ground.

He scowled as he automatically took the bag from her hands and effortlessly threw it over his shoulder. "That's not funny."

"Of course not." Maddie agreed diplomatically before throwing him another smile. "Alright, here's a compromise. I'll go to the Health Center if any of the blisters or cuts get infected. Of course, then the whole foot will probably have to be amputated so that would kind of suck."

"Do you honestly think I find that funny?" Adam growled sulkily, as they started walking down the deserted corridor back to their dorms.

"No, not really. You don't have a sense of humor. It's ok. Some people weren't born with one. Take my sister for example." Maddie said earnestly, her eyes twinkling with suppressed hilarity.

* * *

Happy New Year! I would throw confetti but I don't want to clean it up afterwards.

So virtual confetti for everyone. Holleration.

I hope everyone is in good spirits. I kind of am, except for the fact that isn't working properly as I haven't gotten any alerts. Bah.

Please Review! I'm so self-conscious of my writing that I'd appreciate _any_ sort of feedback.

Ok, I take that back. I'd prefer nice comments but I'll take what I can get.

See you in a week! (hopefully)

* * *

**Joshysgirl:** Lol. No, Maddie's not pregnant. Charlie's mom is, though. I'm going to have a _lot _of fun writing that. Anyway, thanks for the review, sweets! Happy New Year!

**Sphinx005: **Ah, so that's how you do it. Well, you are my inspiration! I bow down to your legendariness. I had a question to ask of you and was going to send you a private message but I didn't know if you would get it because I don't think is sending out alerts right now…so I didn't send you one. That was the biggest run-on sentence ever. Anyway, thanks for the review and Happy New Year!

**RIP Mum: **Hey, you! I haven't heard from you in awhile. Thanks for the review, sweets, it made my day! Happy New Year!

**Flowersc781: **You flatter me. Like really. I was all a-blush when I read your comment. And I kind of agree with your opposites theory. But you're just going to have to wait to find out what happens! I feel like such a bitch for doing that, lol, but I love character development and don't like it when couples are made almost instantaneously. But thanks for the review and Happy New Year!

**Skye0906:** Hey, it's nice to meet you! I'm so glad you enjoyed my series, I'm slightly hesitant about it occasionally since it's kind of different from the movies but you seemed to like it! And I guess that's all that matters, right? And I love my fussy Adam. I honestly didn't expect him to turn out that way but he did and I love, love, love him! Thank you for reviewing and I hope you have a great New Year!

**Taryn Sparrow: **Thanks so much! I feel like I've really grown into my writing in this story, as opposed to Growing Pains. I kind of feel like going back and editing some of it because there are parts that I cringe at. And the Dwayne/Allie scene in the story is _just_ for you! Who says I don't take care of my reviewers? Lol, thanks for the review and I hope you have a _great_ New Year!

**Anonymous:** Lol, it's not really helpful if you don't tell me whose story it is. And how similar are we talking here? But thanks for the heads up anyway and Happy New Year!

Bottom of Form


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: Disclaimers are pointless but so is my life so here…I do not own any of the Mighty Ducks._

– _Chapter Eight –_

* * *

The sharp scrape of ice against metal could be heard as the lone figure made a swift turn. The rink was empty and silent except for the skater's heavy breathing as he maneuvered his way across the ice.

He stopped abruptly, sending an impressive shower of ice chips in his wake. Turning, he went back the way he came, all the while keeping rhythm with his hockey stick. Once again, he stopped with the same force.

"I hate to stop you, my dear boy, but what is the purpose of this?"

With a startled exclamation, the skater swiveled around to see his coach, leaning against the doorway. The man's sparkling, hazel eyes gleamed with curiosity as he stepped onto the ice. "After all, practice has been over for two hours now. Goodness, it's close to nine o'clock!"

Adam Banks shrugged uneasily. "I just had a case of nerves so I stayed longer, sir."

"I see…nervous about tomorrow's game?"

"You could say that." Adam answered, taking off his helmet. "It _is_ Ridgewood. If we beat them, we go on to states."

"So it is, so it is." The old man said mildly, surveying his best player closely. "And don't you have the confidence, lad?"

"You never know what's going to happen, sir. Overconfidence is the downfall of many."

"Indeed."

"I mean, I'm confident in our team's _ability_. I'm just not confident about what the result is going to be."

"You're a wise man. That's a very deep reflection to have come from one so young. Players twice your age still haven't come to that conclusion."

"My father was the one who taught me that philosophy."

"I see." Coach Colbert remarked. "Your father taught you much about hockey, then?"

"You could say that." Adam snorted ruefully. "It's the only thing we talk about."

"Adam, my dear boy, I'm sure that's not true. Think about all the other subjects out there up for conversation. Like school, cars, neighborhood gossip, black sheep family members, even girls, if worse comes to worse." His coach offered affably.

"Sir, _he_ talks about those subjects. I listen. When _we_ talk, it's about hockey." Adam replied rather bitterly.

Coach Colbert pursed his lips, still scrutinizing the boy in front of him. Realizing that this was not the time or place to get into a deep discussion about the boy's personal life, the old man was smart enough to quickly change the subject. "Well…Adam, if you don't mind me saying so, I'd prefer if you went to bed. You do have a fairly important game tomorrow. You won't be able to dodge their offense if you're tired."

"Alright, sir. I'll see you tomorrow." The boy turned to skate away before looking back at him. "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. The Ducks and I…we really appreciate all the help you've given us this past month. We wouldn't have made it without you."

The coach chuckled merrily. "Nonsense, lad! It has been an honor! Now, off with you!" He cried, waving his arms as Adam gave him a crooked smile before heading to the locker rooms.

"Oh, the struggles of growing up." Noah Colbert sighed once the boy was out of sight. "My dear boy, life just gets harder from here…"

* * *

Sleep was a wonderful land. It was nice, comforting, and there were trees made entirely of cotton candy. In fact, sleep land looked remarkably like a scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. At least, that's what it always looked like in Madison Kim's mind. It almost never changed. Every time she closed her eyes, she would find herself in that magical place.

She absolutely _loved_ it.

Therefore, she took every advantage to revisit that land by taking as many naps her schedule allowed. And so on this wonderful Friday afternoon, she was currently immersed underneath her lovely, down filled comforter and enjoying every single moment of candy land.

She was tired, her feet were burning, and every single muscle in her body was screaming for some kind of release. The results of too much dancing had finally caught up to her and she needed a little rest. Come hell or high water, nothing could have budged her from that bed.

Carmen Rivera had known this.

Unfortunately, she had been unable to wake Maddie up in person due to a student government meeting scheduled. However, all was not lost when Ken Wu suggested a modified version of an alarm clock. Knowing Maddie's comatose tendencies, upon reaching the designated time, the clock would immediately start broadcasting Carmen's voice until a sufficiently annoyed girl would regain consciousness.

And as the clock struck 3:45 PM, the tape recorder sprung into action.

"Maddie, get up."

The lump didn't move.

"Maddie, I said up!"

The lump only proceeded to disappear further beneath a large pillow of jade satin.

"I'm warning you."

This time, there was a response in the form of a slight, almost imperceptible twitch.

"You have to be at the rink in fifteen minutes."

There was a groan.

"Everyone's already at the game. It _is_ the one against Ridgewood, you know."

There was movement as the girl turned over.

"You have ten minutes to get to the rink."

A very sleepy "I don't wanna" was heard.

"But what would the Ducks do if their favorite Asian wasn't there?"

"What about Ken…"

"Fine, favorite _Korean_."

"Carmen, go away."

"Time is ticking."

Maddie sat up in bed with a fierce scowl on her face only to realize that there was no one in the room. Looking over, she saw the tap recorder and sighed. No one would let her sleep, would they?

"Are you up? You have less than ten minutes to get to the rink."

_Rink_? Maddie thought dazedly. She blinked before realization struck her like a two ton truck. "SHIT, THE GAME!"

"Don't forget the red, dear. See you in a bit." And with that, the tape recorder shut off, leaving a tornado of activity in its wake.

"They're going to _kill_ me!" Maddie whimpered as she tugged on her Eden Hall sweatshirt and ran out the door, only to double back. "Where the hell are my shoes! Willy! Bagel! Shoes!"

Rotten Willy the Rottweiler opened one eye and seemed to let out a resigned sigh. Bagel the beagle hadn't even twitched from his nap. Glancing over disapprovingly, Willy got up and nudged aside a pile of leotards to unearth a beat up pair of Converses. Picking them up, he dropped them next to a frantic Maddie.

"Huh? Oh! Thank you, darling!" She said hurriedly, blowing him a kiss and slipping them on. "I'll be back in a couple hours!"

Willy stalked over to her desk and nudged her ID card and keys off as she ran out the door for a second time. Waiting patiently by the door, he was rewarded with a panting Maddie as she ran back in. Snatching them out of his mouth, she threw an annoyed "I _don't_ want to hear it!" over her shoulder.

* * *

"Jules…could you please…_stop_."

Julie Gaffney ceased bouncing three small handballs off the wall. She had been doing this rapidly for the past few weeks in order to help train her reflexes. Turning to face an annoyed looking Goldberg, she noticed that the other goalie had just walked into the locker room and immediately started to glare at her. "Is it bothering you?"

"Obviously." Goldberg spit out, looking _extremely _peeved. "Stop showing off."

"Showing off?"

"_Yes_."

"I wasn't aware."

"We all know you're quicker than me. There's no reason to throw it in my face!"

Julie stared at him passively for a few seconds before turning and resuming her bouncing. Gritting his teeth, Goldberg stomped away to his locker, muttering something about blonde goalies that had no sense of common decency in them. Unbidden, a small, dry smile formed on the girl's lips as she concentrated on hitting and catching every single ball off the wall.

He was just nervous about today's game. Goldberg tended to get a little cranky when he was nervous.

And besides, that "lack of common decency" would come in handy when Julie was slapping the pucks back at Ridgewood.

* * *

"Is he okay?"

"Dude, he looks like he's going to hurl…"

"Nah, Banksie's gonna be alright."

"Are you sure?"

"He looks shit awful."

"_He _can hear you." Adam growled, lifting his head up out of his hands. "I'm fine."

Charlie tossed him a mirthful glance. "Of course you are."

"Listen, Banks. We know how prissy you get about these matches," Averman started airily, pointedly ignoring Adam's steadily purpling complexion. "But the fact remains that we can't have you moping and looking like you want to die right before such an important game."

"What he _means_…" Connie drawled, entering the locker room and dropping her gym bag on the floor with a resounding thump. "-is to man up, grow some balls and hand _their_ balls back to them on a silver platter."

"Lovely imagery, Cons." Russ grimaced, wrinkling his nose. His opinion clearly clashed with the Bash Brothers who were looking at the slim girl with something akin to patriarchal pride. _They_ obviously considered the girl's words to be highly effective.

"I don't think that's helping him, y'all." Dwayne remarked, peering over at the sulking center.

Charlie sighed, throwing his schoolbag into his locker. "Look, Banks. We need to stride in there, heads held high, shoulders thrown back and ready to do battle!" The old, manic glint was coming back into his light green eyes and the other Ducks slowly moved away from his wild gesticulating.

Averman nodded sagely, pulling on his pads over his head. "For once, he's right. Don't you want to win?"

"Win? _Win_?" Adam looked up wildly, his hair a mess from running his fingers through it. "Of course I want to win! Hell, if we win, I'll pull a Portman and strip in front of everyone!" he finished desperately.

"Won't we all?" Luis snickered, taking off his jacket. "If we win, I'll do it _with_ you!"

Just then, the door slammed open and Dylan Howard walked through in full, charming, blond glory. "Good afternoon, barbaric hockey players!"

"Oh no, not him." Adam groaned, placing his head in his hands again.

"Dylan! Just in time! Our lovely snobs have just agreed!" Charlie chortled, opening his arms magnanimously. "It is a lovely day for victory, isn't it?"

Dylan beamed as he skipped over to Charlie, removing numerous cans from various pockets on his person and tossing some over to the Captain. "How absolutely spiffing of them! And here's the material, where are the subjects? We do need eight of them!"

"And we have more than enough players! But Banksie first!" Charlie grinned, wrestling a suspicious Adam onto the bench. "Lift your shirt, cake eater!"

"Charlie? Charlie! What the fuck! Get off-" His protests were drowned out by the raucous commotion of the other Ducks as Dylan and Portman joined the melee.

Julie appeared next to Connie. "What's going on?"

"Apparently, red spray paint." The small girl answered with a raised eyebrow, looking over at the goalie. "Come on, let's suit up. It's going to get rowdy in eight seconds."

* * *

"Is this seat taken?"

"Yes."

The burly lacrosse player frowned. The girl hadn't even looked up! He cleared his throat again and placed his most charming smile on. "But no one's sitting in it."

"That's because someone's _going _to sit in it, idiot." The girl finally looked up at him and annoyance clearly flashed through her amber eyes. "Now run along before the _rest _of the seats fill up."

"But-"

Carmen Rivera shut her organizer in extreme aggravation. Was this guy for real? Opening her mouth to retort, she was stopped by the presence of an even more irritating specimen of the male gender. "On second thought, you can sit there."

"Nonsense!" Dylan Howard smiled cheekily, firmly ensconced in said seat. "Sorry for wasting your time, George. Ta Ta, now!" His steel grey eyes narrowed as they watched the grumbling lacrosse player stomp away. The _nerve_ of that boy, trying to steal _his_ girl.

"Howard…don't you have anything _better _to do?" Carmen asked, looking incensed by the close proximity. Her eyes darted around the rapidly filling stadium for any sort of deliverance.

Dylan thought for a second. "No, not really. Where's Maggot?"

"Sleeping."

"Oh."

"…"

"She's running really late, isn't she? The game's about to start. Look, the players are coming on to the ice."

"…"

"So that's how it is?"

"…"

"You do realize that all this animosity is a front that you put up to hide your secret love for me, right?"

"…"

"It's okay, you know. I'm perfectly fine with your secret obsession."

"…"

"You _love_ me. You love-y, love-y, _love_ me! Don't say anything and stare ahead stonily if that's a yes!"

"…"

"Ah ha! I knew it!"

"…"

"So…"

"…"

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Probably for being a prick, Dipshit." A new voice joined the group. Turning, they saw a flushed and panting Maddie maneuver her way through the crowd. "What did I miss?"

Dylan shrugged. He hadn't been paying attention. Giving him an _extremely_ dirty look, Carmen moved over a little so Maddie could squeeze between them. "They dropped the puck about five minutes ago. Nothing's happened yet."

"They're playing rather rough, aren't they?" Dylan mused, finally looking down at the ice. "Ouch, that had to have hurt."

Maddie winced. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she screamed down towards the rink."It's okay, just walk it off, Guy! You'll get him later!"

"No, he won't." The blond boy snorted. "That guy's a monster. He doesn't really have a purpose except to pound people. You know, scare tactics?"

"What?"

"Scare-never mind. You won't understand."

"Obviously." Maddie nodded affirmatively, looking down at the rink just in time to see Dwayne get tripped by a Ridgewood hockey stick and do a full face plant onto the ice. "Was that legal?"

"I fairly doubt it."

Carmen Rivera slowly tuned the two out to focus on her own observations. The Ducks _better_ win this. There was too much at stake for them not to. Drifting her eyes over the assembled crowd, she was relieved to see that no scouts seemed to be there. However, there _would _be scouts at states, which the Ducks wouldn't be _going _to if they didn't win this game. She scowled just to get it out of her system.

* * *

Averman watched in scarcely disguised awe as their illustrious captain threw his stick down and pushed the offending Ridgewood player. Between rather inventive curses, the two somehow managed to become engaged in a heated shoving match that was gradually escalating to the point of where it would soon become an all out brawl.

The fact that it was still the first period didn't escape Averman's attention.

And maybe it was the fact that Charlie was having at it with Eric Larson, their _dear_ friend from the Hawks, that prevented anyone from interrupting.

Old grudges die hard.

"Oh boo, the ref's spoiling our fun." Guy drawled, coming to a stop right in front of the other Ducks. "Pity…it looked like Spazway was winning." He added, watching the ref pull the two boys off to the box.

"Number 96 red, and number 33 black. Two minutes, unsportsmanlike conduct."

"What?" Averman heard Charlie explode. "It's _roughing_! I wouldn't engage in _any _kind of _contact_ with _him_!"

Connie groaned and shoved her face into her hands. "I'm going out with a self-righteous idiot."

"That you are." Luis agreed, still looking at the furious Charlie and Larson. "But it seems like Larson isn't much better."

It was true.

Both of them were currently to gouge each other's eyes out and ignoring the pained, impatient pushes that the exasperated referee was giving them, as well as the intolerant boos coming from the edgy audience. A muffled shout of "Can we _please_ play some fucking hockey?!" alerted Averman to the far side of the wall where he witnessed an _extremely_ frustrated Adam kicking the wall and spewing out a variety of colorful language.

"Does that always happen?" Coach Colbert asked bemusedly, peering closer at Banks' shit fit. "My…the boy does have a temper, doesn't he?"

Temper was one word for it. In Averman's esteemed opinion, the boy looked rather insane.

_But then again_…the redhead mused, gazing speculatively at the incensed hockey player. _Adam's always been a bit off the edge about hockey_.

* * *

Charlie settled in the box with a sullen thump. He and Larson had finally been shoved into the box with another minute tacked on for being "difficult."

It was sad that Charlie hadn't even _begun_ to be difficult.

Ignoring the catcalls and boos coming from the audience, he tried to concentrate on the game in front of him when a familiar voice jerked him out of his reverie. Unbidden, the voice became more distinct and he unknowingly sharpened his ears to make out what it was saying.

"…in big trouble, Charles William Conway! When I get my hands on you, you will be grounded for a month! Never in my _life_ have I seen such behavior! Mark my words, young man!"

With a huge gulp, Charlie turned around to gaze at his furious, _pregnant_ mother as she shook her finger in the air, as if to exaggerate her point. "Dear God, what have I done?"

Noticing that she had her son's attention, Casey Conway Harding's eyes narrowed as her threats became more gruesome. Her husband coughed into his hand, looking amused while the people around her edged away slowly. Number 96 red was a dead man.

"_Shit_…is that the parental units?" Larson breathed, his voice laced with some pity.

Charlie nodded morosely.

"Tough luck, man."

The other boy just gave a pained yet agreeing groan as he sank into his seat.

Larson gave him a sympathetic glance. Rival or not, all men stuck together in the face of psychotic mothers, anal girlfriends and possible injury to the testicles. And Larson _was_ of the noble sort.

Kind of.

* * *

The game was turning out to be an oxymoron of all sorts.

As they finished the second period, the Ducks were tied at 4 to 4 and never had anyone looked so happy at a tie. Most of the Ducks were exhausted yet completely invigorated at the thought of more play time. And then there were the players who, once sent to the penalty box, would engage in a lighthearted conversation with their Ridgewood counterparts and then promptly demolish them upon leaving the said box.

The crowd was no better. All those lovely mothers, who had baked them a yummy array of goodies, were currently screaming for blood at the top of their lungs while their husbands looked on in shock. Dean Buckley had been on the edge of his seat the whole time, screamed himself hoarse, and finally collapsed, muttering something about firing the referees immediately. Coach Orion was pacing the outer edge of the rink, looking very much on edge and terrorizing his JV team if they so much as looked at him the wrong way.

_It's insanity,_ Ken Wu decided, wrapping a bandage around his wrist. He then happened to chance a glance at Adam, who definitely looked unhinged.

Now _that_ was an oxymoron, right there.

The normally cool and composed Adam Nathaniel Banks was off his rocker. The boy was "in the zone" and wasn't really aware of himself right now. It happened occasionally when Adam was extremely stressed or nervous, and then he would proceed to become a hockey playing _super beast_ without any real idea what was going on. Later on, when he snapped out of it, Adam had compared it to a chess game where everyone kind of blended together without names, except Player A, Player B, etc. Guy had then bluntly proceeded to call him a raving lunatic.

Ken sniffed delicately as he examined his wrist. Adam was a nut job when it came to hockey, simple as that.

* * *

Connie Moreau raised an eyebrow at the silent center. "Banks?"

No answer.

"Banks?"

Still no answer.

"I really hate it when you do this, Banks." She sighed, noticing his eyes hadn't moved from his staring match with Averman's water bottle.

Luis grinned, stretching his sore back. "It's only happened like three times, Connie. Be thankful."

"It's just the _principle_ of the thing." Connie retorted. "It doesn't feel _right_."

"And the fact that it's just plain _weird_." Portman snorted, snapping his fingers right in front of Adam's face. There wasn't even a slight twitch. Sighing, he shook his head before turning to look at Connie with a smirk. "So, Cons…that was a nice tantrum out there."

Connie froze, not looking up from her skates. "I'm not going to dignify that with an answer."

"Why not, Cons?" Goldberg grinned, clearly enjoying himself. "It was rather impressive, if I do say so myself."

"Yeah…I'm pretty sure that Ridgewood is more scared of you than anyone on this team." Averman shot in, adding more fuel to the fire. "And their coach is probably looking at a restraining order."

Julie snorted as she re-braided her hair and saw Connie's face turn quite an interesting shade of red. Right in the middle of the second period, one of the Ridgewood players had made a sexist, yet rather flattering comment about her and went on to snap the frazzled nerves of a certain Miss Connie Moreau. The player never knew what hit him.

_-Flashback-_

"What did you just say?" Connie demanded, suddenly skating to a stop and fully facing her surprised adversary. Completely ignoring the fact that the game was still going on, she took off her helmet and gloves and rounded on her prey. "_What did you just say?_"

Her prey, a huge, hulking boy that had about a foot and more on her, just gaped at her. "N-nothing…"

"O-oh r-really?" She mimicked rather cruelly. "I don't think that's the case. Now let me ask you once again…_what did you just say?_"

"I-I just s-said that…" The player trailed off, looking around for deliverance. He found none. "Y-you shouldn't play hockey because y-your p-p-pretty face m-might get ruined…"

Connie nodded calmly, her eyes spitting fire. "That's what I thought. Take off your helmet."

"W-what?" Obviously this boy wasn't that bright. In any other circumstance, she _might _have felt sorry for him…but this wasn't any other circumstance.

"Oi, Connie! Leave him alone and get back in the game! There's a _game_ going on here! It requires _players_!" She heard Guy howl from somewhere on the outer edge of her vision.

"Go fuck a goat, Germaine! And _you_…I said, take off your helmet and come here."

With shaking fingers, the boy proceeded to do so and skating over rather hesitantly, bent down to Connie's level. And then-

"Ow! Ow! Thop!" He cried, as tears of pain almost leaked out of his eyes. Connie furiously tightened her grip on the player's nose.

"Can we _please_ just play some fucking _hockey_ without any _interruptions_?" Adam Banks screamed, waving his stick around to emphasize his point.

Connie didn't really care. Banks had gone off the deep end.

"Don't you _ever_ say that to _anyone_ ever again, do you hear? Do _you_ hear?" She mercilessly twisted it.

"Yes! Yes! Just thop!" He wailed, as her vice like grip gave one last vicious wrench before letting go. Before he knew what was going on, Connie had picked up her gear and skated away, running into the referee on her way. It was too bad that Connie was in no mood to tolerate referees.

"I'm on my way to the box, alright?" She snapped before the official had a chance to open his mouth. "What's it gonna be, two minutes for _tweaking_?" And with that, she had stomped away from the flabbergasted ref before finding a distraction in the form of a stunned Ridgewood coach. Deciding that some things still needed to be sorted out, she headed over.

"Sir! Yes, you!" She called before skating to a full stop in front of him. "Do you encourage this sort of behavior from your boys? Do you _condone_ sexist comments, sir? How does your _wife _feel about that, hmm?"

The stunned coach, who looked only to be in his mid twenties, opened and closed his mouth in shock. "I-I don't h-have a w-wife."

"Well, that makes a lot of sense." Connie sneered, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, let me tell you something, _sir_. These sexist comments could get you in _quite_ a bit of trouble, legal _and_ social so you might want to start telling your precious _boys_ exactly what the meaning of sportsmanship conduct is and mention that if they can't _hack_ it with the big boys, they can _shove_ it!"

"Come on, young lady." The ref appeared, albeit looking hesitant to touch the raging brunette. "You're holding up the game."

"I'm _going_." She snarled, tossing her head. "Oh and you might want to get rid of your _s-s-stuttering _problem. It appears to be affecting your players as well. And get them to wash their faces, their facial oil looks to be _congealing_." And with that parting shot, she huffily skated over to the box.

There was almost an awed silence on the ice that contrasted directly with the cheers coming from the crowd. Then one of the Ridgewood players turned to look directly at Charlie. "Dude…don't you _go out _with her?"

Not trusting himself to speak, Charlie mutely nodded his head.

"Whoa." He breathed, looking at Charlie with a certain amount of respect. "Props, man."

"Thanks."

Another player leaned in, looking awed. "What-what is she like…you know…in _bed_?"

"Charlie Conway, if you answer that, I will castrate you." A previously silent Julie Gaffney threatened, glaring at the offending Ridgewood player who had the sense to look slightly ashamed.

"_Hockey_! Can we actually _play _some _hockey_?!" Adam howled, looking almost deranged.

That snapped everyone back into action. But as the Ridgewood player skated past him, Charlie couldn't resist. "Yo, 82!"

The player turned around. "What?"

"She's…unbelievable." And with a smirk, Charlie skated over to a frothing Adam.

_-End Flashback-_

Julie smiled, feeling a rather sick sense of pride at Connie's remarkable temper. She was brought out of her reverie, however, when the door to the locker room suddenly slammed open and their coach and Charlie bounded in, looking deliriously happy. "Plays! Gather around, new plays! That means you too, Banksie boy! Come on, we need you!"

Blinking, Adam felt himself guided towards Charlie. He noticed that both Luis and Averman had taken hold of his elbows and were steering him towards their captain.

Coach Colbert surveyed his star player with some concern. "Is Adam…ah, feeling alright?" He asked Russ mildly.

"Oh, Banksie?" Russ giggled, clapping his coach on the back. "Don't worry about him, coach. This happens once in awhile…you know, when he's under a lot of stress? It's fine, he can understand everything pertaining to the game and he'll snap out of it after we win."

"I see."

He didn't really, but time was ticking.

* * *

They were two points up. For some miraculous reason, they were two points up. As there was a little less than three minutes left in the game, so long as they didn't lose any goals, they were fine. They would be going to States.

Carmen let out a gasp of air, feeling rather dizzy. She reminded herself never to get too invested in this kind of stuff ever again. It was too emotionally taxing.

"Well, this game's in the bag." Dylan stated cheerfully before getting up. "I'm off."

"What?" Maddie protested, staring up at him reproachfully. "It's not over yet!"

"Don't complain, dearest." Carmen immediately replied. "If he wants to go, let him leave."

Dylan winked at her to which she let out an instinctive shudder. "I'm just going to go over to Ms. Delaney and relieve her of her conducting duties. That band _has_ to be grating on her nerves by now. And besides…I have to go oversee the strip show."

Maddie blinked. "Strip show?"

"Yes, the victory strip show." Dylan nodded earnestly, looking quite serious. "Now my expertise is needed so if you'll excuse me…"

Hands shaking slightly, Carmen popped a painkiller into her mouth. She felt a major headache coming on.

* * *

_Germaine, where the fuck are you! Hurry up!_ Portman thought as he skillfully swerved past a Ridgewood player and finally slid the puck over to a waiting Guy. The blond boy managed to maneuver past one of their players but didn't see the other one until it was too late. "Oof!" He groaned before he collapsed on the ground.

Dwayne quickly shoved the Ridgewood defense out of his way and gained control of the puck. Looking furiously around for someone to pass it to you, he saw Banks on the outer edge of his vision coming closer and closer with each second. "Make it three up, Banks!" He managed to hiss out, before taking a hit that was intended for the other player.

"_Three up, make it three up_." Adam thought dazedly as he instinctively shot down the ice. "_Left, right, left, swerve, right, right, twist wrist, and…_"

"IN!" Charlie shouted, pumping his fist in the air. "We're going to States, baby!"

* * *

"Sweet, Banks." Dylan said approvingly before the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game. The crowd understandably went wild. Oh those poor, unsuspecting people, the show was just beginning. Dylan cackled, pressing a couple commands on his laptop.

"Mr. Howard? Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Ms. Delaney asked nervously, looking at his smug face.

"Absolutely." Dylan smiled charmingly, hitting her with the full force of his pearly whites. "Nothing can go wrong." He added, lifting a pair of headphones to his ear.

_1…_

_2…_

_3…_

"_Booty, booty, booty, booty rockin' everywhere! Booty, booty, booty, booty rockin' everywhere!_"

Humming along cheerfully and pointedly ignoring Ms. Delaney's shocked gasp, Dylan caught Charlie's eye down on the ice and gave him the thumbs up. The madly grinning Captain returned it, and promptly tore off his helmet.

And gloves.

And jersey.

And pads.

The crowd had never made so much noise since freshman year where Dean Portman had stripped in the penalty box.

The undershirt went too.

There, in bright, red paint, was a huge letter D.

Dylan noticed that the other Ducks had followed suit and were slowly joining Charlie in skating around the rink.

It was all perfect but…he frowned and then promptly groaned.

Trust Banks to ruin this one too, that _prude_.

* * *

"Den Hall?" Maddie asked, puzzled. "Isn't it supposed to be Eden Hall?"

Carmen didn't answer and just popped another aspirin into her mouth.

* * *

Charlie swore and looked around for his idiot of a best friend. Spotting him over by the Ridgewood net, looking dazed and just completely out of it, he skated over. "Banksie! Banksie boy!"

Adam stared at him blankly.

"Banksie, we won!"

Just more blank staring.

Charlie sighed and surveyed that shocked face. And then, carefully removing the helmet from his best friend's head, he promptly slapped him hard across his face. "Banks, snap out of it! We fucking _won_!"

Somewhere in the murky fog that was Adam's consciousness, there was a spark of comprehension. Adam blinked. And blinked again. And finally managed to make a sound. "_W-won_?"

"Yes, you damn pouf! We _won_! We're going to _States_!"

Reality crashed around him like a broken dam. The noise of the crowd was nothing compared to the deafening din that suddenly clouded his senses. They had _won_. Adam felt like shouting. And then he realized that everyone else was shouting. So he did too. "Charlie, we fucking won!" He roared abruptly, startling the other boy with a monster hug. He then blinked before staring at his best friend in disbelief. "You _slapped _me!"

"Yes, yes, I _know_! That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Ignoring the last comment, Charlie exasperatedly began removing the newly awakened center's gloves for him. "Now, hurry up! Strip! You're ruining the show!"

And that's when Adam noticed that the majority of the Ducks had their shirts off. And that an absolutely _obscene_ song was playing. He blinked. "Oh right. What letter am I again?"

"You're the E! You're the mother fucking E! E for Evil! E for E-diotic!" The captain howled, yanking Adam's jersey off. "Now hurry up!"

So Adam complied.

And the noise in the stadium went up several decibels as the star center suddenly lost his shirt.

* * *

"I'm so embarrassed." Julie hid her head in her hands. Averman patted her on the back comfortingly, wincing as he accidentally hit his ribs against the wall.

Connie cocked her head as she surveyed the shirtless children, skating around. "How obnoxious." She internally groaned as they had even corrupted dear, sweet, old Adam who was currently roaring along with the best of them.

"Very spirited lads we have, don't we?" Their coach smiled, bouncing on the balls of his feet and humming along to the tune. "I think it's rather inspiring."

Goldberg stared at him. "You would." He muttered under his breath with a shake of his head.

* * *

Allie Howard scowled as her boyfriend paraded around shirtless. Her possessive streak had come around full circle and was causing her to turn a _very_ unattractive shade of red. She was going to have a nice, long talk with that cowboy of hers. That lovely, muscled chest was for _her_ eyes alone, _not_ for the benefit of an entire stadium!

Turning around to lash out at _someone_, she came across a stony faced Emily Parker. The girl was glaring down at the ice, with an unreadable look in her eyes. But Allie wasn't stupid. Far from, actually. And she knew exactly what Emily was thinking.

"You dumped _him_, Ems." She said softly and not unkindly.

The other girl started, not knowing that she was being watched. "What?"

"You dumped _him_. It's time to move on."

Emily straightened, giving her a cool look out of her ice blue eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I think you do." Allie murmured, looking at one of her closest friends sympathetically. "It's not healthy."

It was like watching air being let out of a balloon. Emily slowly deflated, finally looking quite dejected. "There are times when I really miss him. And there are other times when I want him back."

"Then do something about it."

There was no answer as Emily just stared back onto the ice.

* * *

"Someone kill me now." Carmen muttered as she sank down into her seat.

"Don't be such a spoilsport, Car." Maddie grinned, absently bobbing her head along to the melody. "Oh, look, they're coming this way!"

The other girl moaned into her hands as she sank further down into her seat. She wasn't going to look up, she was just going to lie there with her head in her hands and wait for it to all be over.

"Maddie! We won!" Fulton's voice could be heard bellowing from the ice.

"I know, I know! I'm so proud of you!" Did she have to yell _back_ at them?

"Hey, Maddie! Here!" The voice of Portman joined the conversation and then suddenly, Carmen felt something soft and damp land on her head. Gritting her teeth, she picked it off and gazed at Portman's undershirt.

"It landed on Carmen, Portman! She looks pissed!" Maddie called down unnecessarily.

Portman let out a loud whoop. "Sweet! My aim is unerring, my dear! It got her to look up, didn't it?" And with that, he proceeded to do a wild dance of victory, complete with rather obscene pelvic thrusts.

"Remind me to teach them a better dance than that." Maddie blanched, looking quite disgusted.

"Remind me to _kill_ them." Carmen ground out, her fingers twitching haphazardly.

* * *

He could handle the pounding of drums for five straight days in a row.

He could handle the fact that his suite's sitting room now closely resembled a recording studio.

He could handle his roommate, Dylan Howard, waking up at strange hours of the night, with a rhythmic sequence that absolutely _needed_ to be written down.

He could even handle it when the said roommate decided to test out said rhythmic sequence out on his drum set.

After all, it was all for Maddie in the end, right? And Guy adored Maddie. He wanted her to get into that program as much as Dylan did and so, put up with all of the other's sudden musical schemes that would "set her apart" from the other applicants.

But this…this was the last straw.

"I feel like a fucking pouf!" Guy hissed, looking around at his surroundings warily.

"Shut up." Dylan answered absently, looking over a piece of paper clutched in his hands. The two were currently walking around a very trendy department store in downtown Minneapolis that had a disproportionate amount of females. It was needless to say that Guy was _not_ happy.

"You lied to me! You said you needed sports equipment!"

Dylan shook his hair out of his eyes as he spotted the section he needed. "Come along, now. And don't be silly, I did need sports equipment. I bought a new pair of cleats."

Guy rolled his eyes. "Then _why_ are we _here_?" He hissed, gesturing around at what appeared to be, to his supreme horror, the female formal attire section of the department store. Pointedly ignoring the surprised giggles of a pair of teenage girls, he hurried after his roommate who was striding along without a care in the world.

"Cause Maddie needs clothes."

"For _what_? She's doing fine right now, isn't she?" Guy sputtered.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's for her audition tape. Now…she'll be wearing her standard stuff for the ballet bit of it…" Dylan muttered, once again surveying his list closely. "…and I'm not sure what the hell she's doing for the personal reflection piece…so she needs something snazzy for the modern dance part. What do you think, Guy?"

"I don't _know_." Guy shrugged helplessly, knowing he was backed into the corner. Maddie had _better_ get into that program for all he was suffering because of her.

In full fashion designer mode, Dylan pursed his lips as he walked through rows and rows of dresses. "I'm thinking something a bright gold or bronze. It flatters her skin tone. And it'd show up nicely against the stage backdrop."

"Colors can flatter skin?" Guy asked, trailing after him. "I didn't know that."

Resisting the urge to lecture his clueless roommate about the magical powers of colors, Dylan instead took out his frustrations on his list, crumpling it up in his hands. "Yes, Guy, colors can flatter skin tones."

"Huh." The other boy said with some surprise. "Hey, how about this one?"

"Guy, the day that Maddie has enough boobs to fill that thing out will be a day for celebration indeed. And that dress is quite the _ugliest_ shade of marigold in the world." Dylan said flatly, looking resigned at the ignorance of his roommate.

"Oh."

"Indeed." Then he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. "This looks promising." He murmured, picking up a taffeta dress. Lifting the fabric up to the light, he appraised the burnished bronze sheen of the material.

"That's pretty." Guy spoke up lamely, not knowing what else to add to the discussion.

"Indeed it is!" The two turned to see a young woman smiling up at them cheerfully. "We just got that shipment in last week. It's been selling like hotcakes!"

While Guy openly ogled the woman, Dylan gave her a cursory glance. Around twenty-five or so, rather pretty red hair, too thin eyebrows, too bright smile and too eager to sell that damn dress. That shirt was cut too low to reveal her pushup bra-ed cleavage and her skirt hugged her non-existent curves.

Dylan almost pouted. He _loved _curves. And not that "skinny with curves in the right places" shit either. He loved _real_, _dramatic _curves. Like the 50s pinup girls. Was it so hard for twenty first century women to be curvy? He guessed so, his lips suddenly twisting into a wicked smile as he remembered one _definitely_ curvy body. Carmen Rivera had more curves than a race track.

"Sir?" Dylan reluctantly snapped out of his naughty, curvy, Rivera reverie and focused on the sales girl in front of him. "We have other styles, as well! As well as other colors! So you can pick the color that will look the best on your-"

"No need." He abruptly cut her off, as he gazed at the dress in his hands. It was definitely suitable. "This is fine, we'll be cutting it up anyway."

The saleslady gasped. "I beg your pardon?"

"Yes, I only really need the top to this. The skirt is most likely going to be cut off. I think some chiffon to cover it…" Dylan mused, already looking to see where incisions could be made.

The sales girl had recovered enough to regain her voice. Dylan kind of liked her better before. "That _dress _is an authentic _Nicole Miller_!"

"Never met her." He said dismissively, before waving the dress in her sputtering face. "Where do I pay?"

* * *

"Why don't you actually study, Goldberg?" Ken asked in exasperation.

Goldberg looked up at him, looking almost aghast at the idea. "_What_?"

"Study. You know, opening books…reading the words…actually _remembering_ what the words are…that sort of thing." The Asian boy said sarcastically while Julie snickered beside him.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's better if I don't study." Goldberg said off handedly, as he carefully balanced his tower of pencils.

Then Julie closed her German textbook with a loud snap, causing all the pencils to fall down. "Sorry." She murmured innocently, ignoring his angry glare.

"How is it better if you don't study?" Ken sputtered, not understanding. "You might get benched!"

Goldberg sighed, annoyed at having to explain his brilliance. _And_ annoyed at having to rebuild his tower of writing utensils. "Studying brings knowledge. Hi, Carmen."

Carmen Rivera gave a nod of acknowledgement as she walked into their sitting room and handed Julie her history notes.

"And your point is?"

Rolling his eyes and cursing the dimwitted fools that were surrounding him, Goldberg proceeded to explain. "Knowledge brings power. Power corrupts. Do want me to be corrupt?"

There was a stunned silence as the three stared at him. _You can't really blame them for being speechless. After all, when faced with this brilliant logic, what is there to say?_ Goldberg thought smugly.

"I say…study hard. Be evil." And with a concluding snooty sniff, Carmen spun on her heel and stalked out.

"Don't give me your life motto, Rivera!" Goldberg yelled after her huffily with a huge frown on his face. "I'm bored."

"What do you want us to do about it?" Julie asked, poring over her notes and only giving him a fraction of attention.

"Is _anyone_ doing anything interesting right now?" The goalie asked exasperatedly, scratching his stomach idly.

Ken grit his teeth as he tried to grasp the concept of electrostatics. "Why don't you go to the auditorium then?"

"Why? What's there?"

"They're recording Maddie's audition piece."

"Already? I thought it was due in mid-December." Goldberg asked in surprise.

"Goldberg. It's the twelfth. It pretty much _is_ mid-December." Ken said dryly.

"Oh. Right. Time flies, doesn't it. Anyway, who's there?"

"A lot, I'd imagine."

"Dylan's _letting _people in?" Julie asked in some surprise.

Ken shrugged. "I don't know. He booked the auditorium from 4 to 6 and got the whole camera crew from the Filmography Club to tape it. Word spread, I guess. Go check it out if you're bored."

"Okay, Maddie needs me, after all." Goldberg agreed, speedily getting up on his feet and kicking his physics textbook out of his way. "Bye, nerds!"

Julie glared at her notes. _I'm not a nerd_, she thought petulantly, stabbing a picture of King George III right in the left eye.

* * *

"How you feeling?"

Maddie looked up at the dressing room mirror and saw Dylan reflected back at her. "I'm good."

He smiled indulgently and walked over to her. Adjusting the back of her dress, he shook his head. "It's going really well, you know. We got spectacular footage and the sound is carrying."

"That's nice to hear." Maddie said breathlessly, as Dylan flitted around her, making minute adjustments on her person. It barely registered as her stomach was currently in knots. "So…was I okay?"

"My dear, you were marvelous." Her best friend soothed her, fixing a loose seam on her dress. "Connie did a really good job on this dress. I didn't think it was going to turn out this well." He pursed his lips, looking at it closely. Connie had connected the bronze taffeta top with a short skirt that consisted of numerous, irregularly shaped strips of bright gold, iridescent chiffon. The result was nothing short of a masterpiece.

"Yeah, she did." The dancer replied, wringing her hands. "Dylan, how do you think the first one went? I think I landed wrong on the last pirouette-"

Dylan snorted, effectively cutting her off. "It was perfect. Trust me, it was _perfect_. Now we're going to finish this modern piece off with a bang and then we'll figure something out for that other part."

"Alright." Maddie whispered, looking at her nervous reflection. Behind her, she saw Dylan straighten up and shake his hair out of his eyes. Dressed in a black concert tee with a gray tweed blazer and faded jeans, he looked every inch the part of the young urbanite.

"You know, I'm glad you're attractive." He mused in a completely serious tone, looking at their reflection. "Our attractiveness when combined is so much more intimidating. Hmmm…we _are _quite lovely, aren't we?"

Dylan cocked his head critically. "Of course, I'm the prettier one, but that's expected. Anyway, I have to go bully Jacobsen, the kid can't seem to get the point of steady camera work. Hurry up!" He sailed out the door, whistling merrily.

Maddie blinked.

* * *

"So no idea whatsoever?"

"Not really."

"I see."

"Sorry." Maddie muttered, looking close to tears. They were _so _close to being finished! Having finished performing both modern and traditional parts, she only had a two minute, rather informal, personal reflection piece left and she had absolutely no _clue_ what she was going to do for it.

The guy behind the camera sighed and rubbed his eyes. "So do you want to just wrap it up for tonight?"

"I guess that's what we'll have to do. I'm sor-" Maddie started apologetically before she was cut off by Dylan, who had been quietly conversing with Russ for the past few minutes.

"Hold up. It's 5:42. I hired you guys until six." He said coolly, walking over to his laptop. "Maddie, get up on stage."

Biting her lip, she obediently did as he said. She was comfortably dressed in a plain white leotard and bright red, Eden Hall emblazoned sweatpants and yet she felt like gnawing on her liver. "Dylan…"

"It's ok, Mads!" Russ called encouragingly, leaning back in his seat. "We have a great idea."

"Set up." Dylan ordered the video crew before turning his attention back to Maddie. With a great jump, he leaped onto the stage along with her. "This is pretty informal, right? Focus on improvisation?"

"Well, yeah. It's supposed to be a reflection of your personality, technically." Maddie said, not understanding where this was going.

"And we're rolling." The camera boy announced.

Russ grinned as he found the music file on Dylan's computer. "Well, Mads. Start boogieing."

"To _what_?" Maddie snapped, feeling uncharacteristically cranky.

Dylan grinned at her as the music started. "Come on, Mads. Let it rain. And clear it out. Let it rain. And clear it out. Let it rain. And clear it out."

Maddie stared at her dancing best friend in shock before bursting out into unrestrained giggles. "You're kidding me!"

"I kid you not." Dylan laughed as he continued to do the most ridiculous dance in history. "Chicken noodle soup. Chicken noodle soup. Chicken noodle soup with a soda on the side."

"I can't send that in!"

"Why not?"

"Because!"

"Let it rain. And clear it out."

"You look ridiculous."

"Representation of one's personality. You_ are_ ridiculous."

Maddie bit her lip. She was breaking.

"Come on. Just spice it up. And then you'll have full Harlem flavor."

"Oh, what the hell." She muttered, giving in.

Russ let out an admiring whoop before dissolving into giggles. "Break it down, Maddie!"

At the back of the auditorium, Emily Parker rolled her eyes. "This school is going to the dogs." She muttered before stalking out.

* * *

Minnesota was cold. It was very, very, very cold. And it started snowing quite early.

Luis Mendoza hated it.

He was used to Miami weather. Lovely, sunny, balmy Miami weather with lots of beautiful, sun kissed girls wearing itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny, yellow, polka-dot bikinis. In Minnesota, girls wore huge, bulky ski jackets that somehow gave them a striking resemblance to the Abominable Snowman. At least that's what Connie looked like.

He kept quiet though, because he felt that she wouldn't be too pleased with his comparison.

However, Luis had to admit that it was kind of nice to see such a storybook winter scene. Eden Hall's grounds were gorgeous and as Christmas was only a little over a week away, the surrounding area had been decorated with full, opulent and tasteful detail. People were really getting into the spirit of the holidays and all around him, students were milling about the campus, getting ready for Eden Hall's annual Winter Festival, which was to be held in a few hours time.

"This is nice." Adam remarked blandly, walking up towards him.

"It's cold."

"It's relatively warm, actually."

"Bite me, Banks."

"Hot chocolate?" Luis turned to see a bundled up Maddie smiling up at him. Wrapped in a huge ski jacket, what appeared to be two scarves wrapped around her neck, mittens, and her trademark rubber rain boots, she seemed to be quite snug. He couldn't help but feel that Connie was responsible for making her wear so many layers. "Thanks."

"I'm good." Adam said, shaking his head before Maddie stopped him.

"Oh and spiced cider for you. You don't like chocolate, right?" She wrinkled her nose, handing him another cup. "You freak."

Adam smiled, accepting it. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now if you'll excuse me, I apparently have to go _bond_ with Portman." Maddie wrinkled her nose. "He wants to find a girlfriend. Not a girl. But a _girlfriend_ and he thinks I can help him. Just goes to show how much _he_ knows." She complained as she waddled off with a wave.

The two boys continued to walk around the Festival, chatting amicably before they were stopped by the appearance of a determined Dylan Howard.

"Dylan, what are you _doing_?" Luis called out.

Dylan grinned and immediately skipped over to them. "Celebrating."

"I see." Adam murmured, unable to take his eyes off of Dylan's red Santa hat. It was quite fetching, in an odd sort of way if you didn't count the fact that it read "I love Carmen" in bright, glittery green letters across the front. "What exactly _are_ you celebrating?"

"Christmas, the season of love…Dylan Howard style." He answered promptly with a roguish grin. "Check it out." And with that he opened his jacket to reveal a t-shirt that read "Rivera is mine in a completely romantic, respectful and non-demeaning or sexist way."

Luis choked on his hot chocolate. "What the hell are you _doing_?" He cried in shock.

"See, the way I figure it…all girls get lonely during Christmas time…they're more sentimental and they want more attention. _So_…if I play my cards right and woo my dear, lovely Rivera the right way, she will be mine for eternity. This year is my year, gentlemen." Dylan announced quite happily.

There was a silence as the two boys stared at the irrepressible blond who was currently beaming at them like his proposed plan could go off without a problem. However, he seemed to have overlooked a _major_ problem…

"Howard, Carmen doesn't know what sentiment _is_." Luis stated flatly, rolling his eyes.

"Nonsense, of course she does! It's built into all girls!"

Adam bit the inside of his cheek, wondering how they should break the news to the boy. "Don't you think this is all a little…over the top, maybe?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Dylan grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "In fact, if this all goes well, you guys can be godfathers to our children. Hell, you can be in the wedding party too!"

Luis had had enough. Deciding to be very, very, _very_ blunt, he reached over and took hold of Dylan's head. "Howard…this is a very bad idea. If you go through with this, Rivera is going to _kill_ you. _Don't _do this." He spoke very slowly, enunciating each word carefully.

Dylan frowned. They were _so_ not as happy or excited as he thought they would have been. _Oh well_. He thought indifferently. "I've got it all covered, boys. She can't _possibly_ say no to me."

* * *

"How about that one?"

"No."

Portman scowled, kicking at the snow petulantly. "Why _not_?"

"Because she's in the sixth grade." Maddie explained patiently.

"No way!" The burly enforcer defended, squinting closer at the girl. "There is no way in _Hell_ that girl is in the _sixth_ grade. Look at the size of her tits!"

"She is. Her brother was in my bio class."

"Oh. Well then…what about her?"

"No."

"Why?"

"She's too good for you."

"Good enough reason, I suppose. How about the blonde over there?"

"That's a boy."

"…"

"Sorry."

"I'm completely fucked, aren't I?"

"I'll buy you funnel cake if it'll make you feel better."

* * *

"You look absolutely _stupid_."

Dylan glared at his sister. Christina was home for the Christmas holidays and upon finding out that she and his parents were coming for the Winter Festival, he had seized the chance to utilize her talents. Knowing his sister had the voice of an angel, he figured Carmen would love to hear some Christmas serenading. And so he shoved the microphone into her protesting hands. "Just sing. Enough with the smartass comments."

"No!"

"_Yes_."

"Dylan, this is _so_ embarrassing!"

"You know what would be embarrassing?" Dylan asked, with an insincere smile on his face. "If Mom and Dad suddenly found out that you lost your virginity on their _bed_ at age fifteen."

Christina gritted her teeth as she resisted the urge to punch her brother in the face. He was a manipulative little _freak_ and had been holding that incident over her head ever since. It just wasn't fair! Especially because she didn't have _any_ dirt on him! He was too smart to ever get caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing. "You know, that's blackmail."

"I know…I'm rather good at it." Dylan remarked without missing a beat. "Now you're going to stand right there and belt your heart out. And if it all goes to plan, I'll have Rivera by the end of the night."

Resisting the urge to slap him, Christina instead, tried to talk some sense into him. "Dylan, I've _met_ Carmen. She's _not_ going to like this."

"Did anyone ask your opinion?" He snapped peevishly, adjusting his Santa hat. "Besides, don't you want to be an auntie?"

"Not particularly, no."

Dylan sniffed elegantly. "Well, you're not very bright anyway. Who cares what you think? Look at your choice in boyfriends."

Christina winced. "Low blow, Dyl." She whispered, looking at the snow crunching beneath her feet.

"Sorry." He muttered, looking slightly abashed. "How is the douche bag anyway?"

"Who, Brian? He's got a new girl. I don't really care." Christina said, rather pleased to find that she really didn't. "I'm over him. It's been over a month, you know."

Dylan nodded before swiftly turning the attention back to the matter at hand. "Good then. Sing your heart out! Think about it as a Christmas gift to Eden Hall."

"For the last time, I don't want to! It's embarrassing!"

"It's necessary! Do you want me to die a lonely, ridiculously handsome specimen of a man who wasn't able to pass on his legendary genetics to an offspring?" He demanded.

"You're insane."

"You asked for it." Dylan whipped out his phone and started dialing a number.

Christina frowned, looking puzzled at the choice in phones. "Um…is that yours?"

"Yeah, what about it?" He huffed, looking defensive.

"It's a pink Razr."

"Mom thinks she's funny." He replied stiffly, clearly indicating what he thought of her humor. "Hello, Mom?"

Immediately, Christina tensed. "What are you doing?"

"Remember that time when you and Dad went to Seattle for a business trip? Well, Tina decided to-"

"No! Aargh, fine! I'll do it!"

Dylan smiled as he hung up. "Good thinking. I'll go set up the speakers."

"There was no one on the phone, was there." Christina ground out, realizing she had been played.

"Nope! Places, everyone!" Dylan beamed.

* * *

Adam sighed as he leaned against an empty booth and looked around his surroundings. The place was packed with people milling around, trying to enjoy their surroundings. Luis had left him to try chatting a girl up and from what Adam could see, he was having a rather successful time.

"Try to be any more broody. People might not get the hint that you're a Banks." A familiar voice said acidly.

A huge smile forming on his face, Adam turned to see his little sister glowering at him. "Angie!"

"Hi." She said grumpily before she was crushed in her way too tall brother's embrace. "Ow! Let go!"

"Her and dad had a little falling out earlier. She's a tad cranky." Adam looked up to see his older brother, Andrew walking towards them with a grin. "Hey, Adam."

"Nice to see you, Drew."

"Likewise. It's weird to be here instead of Blake." Andrew mused, thinking about his own alma mater and looking around with a slight smile on his face. "I feel old."

Angie rolled her eyes. The melodramatics of the situation were absolutely killing her. Pointedly ignoring her, Adam continued the conversation. "How long are you staying?"

"Until January. Then it's back to working on my senior thesis." Andrew said, running his hand through his hair. The resemblance between him and Adam were striking except for the fact that Adam was slightly taller and Andrew's looks were more rugged. Being a senior at Princeton University, Andrew was hardly home and ran himself ragged at school. It seemed that over achieving was also a Banks family trait.

Just then, there was a loud crackle as the speakers sprinkled throughout the Eden Hall campus were turned on. "Is this thing on? Hello? Yo, ladies, gentlemen, small children, dogs, cats, pigeons, whatever. Welcome to the 46th annual Winter Festival. I'm so excited for it. Hooray. Can you feel my giddiness? Yeah, I'm all fired up. I'm Dylan Howard, kind of your host thing for the day and I hope you enjoy this outdoor festival. The idiot who thought of having an outdoor festival in the freezing Minnesota winter should be shot. Now I'd like to present my sister, Christina. The song she'll be singing is dedicated to my future wife, Carmen Rivera, who's the most beautiful person in the whole wide world and therefore should rightfully be mine because I'm extraordinarily pretty as well. Cheers, people!"

"Oh dear God, Dylan, no." Adam moaned, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. He then heard a familiar shriek of fury coming from the opposite direction and knew that in a minute's time, an _extremely_ angry Carmen Rivera would be storming past. "No, no, no, no, no, _no_."

"Lost the plot a bit, hasn't he?" Angie remarked, smirking as she too, heard the scream.

Andrew Banks frowned. "I don't get it."

"He's been chasing after this girl for forever but the girl doesn't like him yet he still continues to embarrass himself by going after her and she still refuses to go out with him and…yeah. That's pretty much it." Adam groaned, unable to believe that Dylan was so thick.

"I see." Andrew said, as the trio slowly walked over to where the singer was situated. He had to admit, the girl who was singing had a remarkable voice and everyone had stopped to listen. As they finally approached the little platform that was set up, he absently glanced up to see who the singer was.

And immediately, the blood in his veins froze.

It was _her_.

The dark blonde hair, large, grey eyes that could still be seen from a distance, delicate features, it was _her_.

Frantically, he turned to his little brother. "Adam, do you know that girl?"

"Who?"

"The one who's singing, you twat! Do you know her?"

"Yeah, she's Dylan's sister. Why are you getting so worked up-"

Adam never finished his sentence as his brother had turned on his heel and was currently pushing his way through the crowd. "Where's he going?"

"Don't look at me." Angie shrugged, before looking up at him with blue eyes that were so close to his. "Anyway, you have a slightly bigger problem to concern yourself with than where he went."

"Oh?"

"Hey, Adam." Turning around, Adam came face to face with Emily Parker.

Immediately becoming suspicious, he narrowed his eyes and surveyed his ex-girlfriend warily. She hadn't spoken to him since their messy breakup and there was no reason why she should be talking to him now. Adam was actually rather comfortable with the new relationship that he and Emily had adopted.

Therefore, he could hardly be blamed for the uncouth and grumpy "What do you want" that emerged from his mouth.

Emily appeared unruffled, however. She just continued smiling and Adam remembered how much he had loved to see that smile. Quickly, he dismissed that recollection. "I just wanted to say hi, catch up, see how you are. It's been a long time."

"Listen, I'm kind of busy right now-"

"Doing what?"

"My family's here and my sister-"

"Sister? Oh, hello, Angela!" Emily beamed, peering over at the small girl. "How are you today? Are you having fun? There are snow cones over there and yummy chocolate lollipops! Wouldn't that be delicious? If you hurry up, you might be able to grab some."

Angie raised her eyebrow at the exact same time Adam did, creating a remarkable likeness between the two persons. However, Angie didn't have Adam's need for political correctness or politeness. "Are you fucking kidding me? I'm thirteen, not five, you ass."

Eyes narrowing, Emily decided to ignore her and focus on Adam. "Adam, please. I just want to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about. Come on, Angie."

"Stop it, Adam! Just listen to me!" Emily growled, grabbing his arm.

"Emily, let go. Trust me when I tell you we have _nothing_ to talk about."

She continued on, heedless of his cold voice and a note of carefully hidden desperation in her tone. "I may have made a mistake!"

Adam froze, unable to believe his ears. He just stared at the girl, wondering what was going on. "Emily, I think it's for the best if we don't talk. It's for the best, _really_. I'll see you around."

"Please, Adam-"

"Miss Parker!" A new voice boomed close to them.

"Mr. Banks! It's so nice to see you!" Emily beamed, embracing their father and sporting a rather triumphant gleam in her eyes.

"It sure is, my dear girl! You just seem to get prettier every time I see you!" Mr. Banks chuckled, coming to stand next to Adam with a firm hand on his back. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything-"

"No, you weren't." Adam announced firmly, almost shaking with the need to get out of the situation. "Emily was just leaving."

"I was?" She asked innocently.

Mr. Banks shook his head. "Don't mind Adam, Emily dear. He's a little rude sometimes. I think it's those friends he hangs out with."

"Oh shut up." Angie snorted, throwing him a suitably scornful glare before stomping away, most likely in search of her other brother.

Mr. Banks ignored her and surveyed Emily speculatively. "I haven't seen you and your family in quite a while. Tell you what…why don't you come over for dinner next week? I'll arrange it with your father."

"What? What-no. No! Dad, I don't think that's a good idea. We have that thing…you know, that important thing-"

"Hush, Adam." Emily spoke up sweetly, laying the full benefit of her pearly whites at the older Mr. Banks. "That would be wonderful. I'm actually looking forward to it. Anyway, I have to go but I'll see you next week?"

"Wonderful!" Mr. Banks beamed before turning to Adam who had a very odd expression on his face at the moment. "Fixing things up with Emily Parker, eh?"

Adam just stared at him, wondering how people could possibly screw up his life even more.

* * *

"Where is he?" Carmen Rivera hissed as she stalked through the fair. Her amber eyes glared at Charlie Conway and Angie Banks, daring them to try and lie to her.

"That way." Angie replied easily, feeling rather amused at the plight that was about to befall the smitten blond. She and Carmen had that aspect of their personalities in common. They occasionally found the suffering of others amusing.

Charlie watched the furious girl storm away before turning to look at the younger girl. "You're evil."

She gave an unruffled shrug as she started scanning the people milling about her for her brothers. "It happens. Open your eyes a bit and you might realize that it's everywhere. The world _is_ a rather nasty place."

"You were so much nicer when you were little." Charlie grumbled. "I wonder how Adam puts up with you all the time."

"He likes playing martyr." Angie smiled before looking up at the boy who was a literally a foot taller than her. "It makes him feel special in ways that you can't."

Charlie frowned, unable to clearly decipher the innuendos that Angie had laced into her words yet knowing that she had been making some sort of insulting comment again.

* * *

Christina Howard stepped down from the stage, blushing slightly as the surrounding crowd gave her a rousing round of applause. It was extremely humiliating yet gratifying at the same time. Looking around for her ass of a brother, she found him on the outskirts of the crowd with a goofy, infatuated smile on his face all the while being verbally abused by an irate Carmen Rivera.

She winced and looked away. He had always done this. Went after the challenge. And apparently, Rivera was the biggest challenge. Christina wasn't even sure if he even cared for her the way he said he did. In fact, she was surprised that he had held out this long in his quest for Carmen's approval. Maybe a very tiny bit of him _was _infatuated with the Hispanic girl.

Dylan was a good kid. He had a good heart. Even all the girls who he had tossed aside after a few days of good fun had agreed. The guy was a charmer to the core and perhaps that was where his danger lied. Or maybe it was due to the fact that every heartbreak he caused was absolutely unintentional on his part and he was completely sincere in each apology.

As much as she loved him – he _was_ her brother, after all – she hoped Carmen wouldn't succumb to him. The girl had too much potential and worth to be messed around with. And maybe she would teach Dylan some humility.

The boy thought he was a god. Granted, he had inherited the extremely attractive Howard family genes as well as their intelligence and just damn good luck in _everything_, but she still saw the one year old infant who had an unholy obsession with pulling his diaper down and peeing on anything remotely expensive.

So engrossed in her thoughts, Christina wasn't watching where she was going and tripped, knocking herself into a hard, muscled chest. She stifled a gasp as her body immediately recognized the other and looked up to the owner, whose arms had reflexively tightened around her to keep her from falling.

Steel grey eyes met ice blue ones as the air around them almost crackled with recollection. Christina didn't know how many seconds, or even _minutes_, had passed before either of them made a move to speak.

The corners of those beautiful blue eyes crinkled as the owner smiled softly. "We really need to stop running into each other like this."

Christina let out the breath she had unintentionally been holding and laughed, the sound traveling true and melodic in the cold air.

The stranger released his arms around her almost reluctantly and stepped back. He held out a hand. "Andrew Banks."

* * *

A sufficiently chastened and appropriately depressed Dylan Thomas Howard shuffled towards a lone figure seated on a bench. Throwing himself down next to the equally depressed and incessantly broody Adam Nathaniel Banks, the two promptly proceeded to scowl at the smiling faces all around them.

Without speaking, the two adolescents realized that they were the unfortunate victims of misguided love and decided that no words were even needed. And so the boys continued to glare at the happy people enjoying the festival.

Until a sight reached their eyes that neither of them were quite ready for.

In fact, it was so surprising that the duo forgot about being in bad moods and gaped at the sight, unable to process the fact that it was real.

Dylan was the first to break the silence.

"Dude…your brother's mackin' it to my sister."

Adam slowly nodded, mentally cursing his brother a slow, painful death. "Yeah…I see."

"My _sister_. My _only_ sister."

"I know."

"She's really smart. She goes to Princeton."

"So does Drew."

"Small world."

"Indeed."

"She's a junior."

"He's a senior."

"She's too good for him."

"Most likely."

"Will he treat her well?"

"Yeah. Mom would kill him otherwise."

"Okay then."

The two boys continued to watch their respective siblings embark upon a brand new romantic journey together. And realized that it made them absolutely _sick_.

* * *

"Oh, Adam dear, _do _stop fussing."

He scowled at his reflection as he yanked at his collar, trying to loosen the knot. The Christmas holidays had come sooner than expected and Adam had to admit that this was shaping up to be the worst holiday season he had ever had. All the Ducks had gone to their respective homes and now he was faced with the prospect of an entire evening of the Parkers with only his family for company.

His realization of the inevitable dinner had been the reason for his incredibly foul mood for the past few days. His father had ignored it, Angie had been equally foul right back at him, and his mother had tolerated it. Drew hadn't even noticed it, due to his new obsession with a certain Miss Christina Grace Howard. In fact, he wasn't even going to _be _here tonight because he was having dinner with the Howards.

That dick.

"Adam!"

"What?" His voice was surly.

Mrs. Vivian Banks clucked her tongue and came around to fix her middle son's collar. Adam sometimes wondered how she could love his father so much. Vivian Banks was the epitome of a caring, gracious woman who balanced her career and her family life perfectly and with equal passion. He broke out of his reverie when she finished fixing his collar and reached up and ran a smooth hand down the side of his face.

"Adam sweetheart…I know you're not particularly fond of this girl and truth be told, neither am I. That whole family is rather pretentious and I'm far from happy you had to get involved in their ridiculous drama." Mrs. Banks let out a sad, little sniff. "But your father values them and…well, it _is _just one night."

"Yeah and it only take 5 minutes to get raped. Kiss your son's virtue goodbye." A familiar drawl sounded by the entrance to the living room. Turning, they saw Angie lounging against the wall.

"Angie! Stop that right now!" Mrs. Banks scolded, before giving a final, loving caress to her sweet, mild-mannered son's face. "Oh dear, the roast!"

As she scuttled out to check the edibility of her roast, Angie ambled over to her favorite brother. "Don't you look precious." She snickered, appraising his royal blue button-down shirt and black slacks.

"About as much as you." Adam countered, looking over at his sister's crimson silk party dress. She looked as pretty as a picture and he knew that she hated that fact.

Angie looked as if she wanted to say something but seemed to change her mind. Instead, she reached up on her very tip toes and gave him a rare kiss on the cheek. Turning to look at him quite seriously, she spoke reassuringly. "It'll be ok."

He gave a noncommittal grunt and absently rubbed away a smudge on her cheek.

"It will." Angie smiled at him. "I _guarantee_ it."

Adam suddenly felt the chill of foreboding surround him. "Angie, what are you-"

"Relax. This isn't fun for me either. And Dad's already expecting me to act up. I bet he has at least ten different reasons for my atrocious, socially unacceptable behavior. It'll be a regular party." And with that ominous statement, the doorbell rang.

* * *

Dinner was awkward.

Well, awkward for him.

His parents and the Parkers looked to be completely at ease, chatting away the meal lightly. Emily joined in on occasion, smiling and showing her charms. Thankfully, Angie had kept quiet for the majority of the meal, to the relief of the Banks'.

But this was hell for him. He hadn't said more than ten words in the hour or so of dinner and concentrated on methodically cutting and chewing his roast. He would normally have loved his mother's pot roast, all the Ducks did, but at the moment it tasted like sandpaper.

"So, I understand that you are still on good terms? That is so delightful." Mrs. Parker gushed, suddenly looking over at Adam and Emily.

Adam hastily took a gulp of water to avoid having to answer that question. Emily just nodded energetically, smiling all the while.

"Well, that's good. Friendship is still worthwhile." Phillip Banks said, shooting his miscreant son a swift glare. It was funny how the most mild-mannered child of his caused the most trouble. Damn those Ducks.

"Anyway, Janice wanted to be here but she couldn't get off work. The film industry _is _so demanding." Mrs. Parker continued, speaking of Emily's older sister.

Mr. Parker nodded. "That girl has been home twice in the past three years! But apparently she's happy and that's all that matters, isn't it?"

"Of course!" Mr. Banks agreed. "Tell me, what is it that she does again?"

"Digital animation." Mr. Parker answered proudly. "Something to do with graphics. She was on the crew of that movie that came out last year. What was it again? Something about a closet and a lion?"

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, dear." Mrs. Parker said with a false sounding laugh. "We are _ever_ so proud of her."

"As you should be." Mrs. Banks said, smiling. However, Adam could feel her irritation at being treated so condescendingly and bristled at it. That was his _mother _she was treating like that!

Mrs. Parker turned to look at Angie. "Tell me, dear, did you see the movie?"

Angie looked up from her plate, her pretty face completely innocent. "I beg your pardon?"

Mrs. Parker looked a little annoyed at having to repeat her question. "I asked if you had seen The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."

"No, I'm afraid I haven't." She answered smoothly in a sweet tone that immediately had alarm bells ringing through Adam's body.

"Why on Earth not?" Mr. Parker boomed, turning to the youngest of the table. "In my opinion, it was better than the book."

"Indeed, Emily practically devoured all those books when she was young." Mrs. Parker said, throwing her daughter a proud glance. "Did you even read the books?"

"Oh, of course, she did!" Mr. Banks said hastily, also realizing the potential dangers of the situation. The less Angie talked, the less havoc she could wreak. "Adam and Andrew both read through those books in less than a month."

"So you just didn't like them?" Mr. Parker seemed keen to get to the bottom of Angie's aversion to C.S. Lewis.

Angie looked up again at Mr. Parker. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

Letting out a small laugh, Emily took a sip of water. "Well, that's a first! What in Heaven's name did you not like about them?"

The deceptively innocent blue eyes twinkled. Adam braced himself.

"Well," Angie said sweetly. "The whole premise of the story threw me off."

"Premise?"

"Yes. A bunch of children go into a secluded closet and enter a magical land, where they play with furry, woodland beasts and come out hours upon hours later, completely happy and satiated? Sounds a little off to me."

Adam immediately started coughing into his napkin, trying desperately to control his laughing. Mrs. Banks was no better as the corners of her mouth kept on twitching. Mr. Banks looked apoplectic as did the Parkers.

"Adam, control yourself!" Mr. Banks barked, looking over at his red-faced son.

"Sorry…the meat…is…kind of…dry." He managed, taking a hasty sip of water.

Mrs. Parker narrowed her eyes and looked at Angie. "Young lady, C.S. Lewis was a _very_ religious man."

Angie was unfazed. 'Well that explains a lot. Probably had to get his little perversions out on paper-"

"Angela Morgan Banks!" Mr. Banks finally thundered. "That will be enough!"

And the dinner continued.

But this time around, it was awkward for _everyone_.

Except for a complacently smiling teenage girl.

* * *

"This _has_ been fun!" Mrs. Parker announced as she accepted her coat. "We must do this again."

"Any time, Lydia." Adam's mother smiled graciously as she watched the family pull on their coats. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for a wonderful meal, Vivian." Mr. Parker boomed, coming to give his mother an embrace and a kiss on the cheek.

Adam internally groaned. He hated this part, where everyone got touchy-feely with each other. Everyone made the rounds until all were appropriately disgusted. And true enough, all were. At least he hoped they were.

He stiffened as Emily came up to him. "Get home safe."

"Thanks…for dinner."

She was much too close for comfort. "My mom made dinner."

"And it was wonderful." Without warning, her lips were on his and just as quickly, they were gone.

He stumbled back, immediately searching to see if anyone had seen that. They hadn't. Finally satisfied, he turned to glare at a smug looking Emily Parker. "What the _fuck_ was that?" He hissed, his voice barely above a whisper.

"A trigger." She answered cryptically before walking over to her parents.

As they were about to leave, Mr. Parker seemed to notice a huge black plastic bag resting in the corner of the foyer. "I hope you don't mind me asking but what on Earth is that? It's been niggling my mind since we came in."

Angie entered the room, as if on cue. Adam had no clue where she had been before that but judging from the look of pure malice on her face, he guessed that she wasn't done for the night.

"That's my porn collection."

"_I beg your pardon_?" Mrs. Parker gasped, her hand flying up to her throat.

"Yeah, I've decided to sell my porn collection. It's hard letting go but I figure I could trade some of the oldies for some new stuff. And as I pride myself on being a connoisseur of this sort, I must have only the best." Angie said, with a completely straight face.

"A-Ang-_upstairs_…_now_." Mr. Banks growled, his face purple.

Angie nodded, giving the assembled lot a thoughtful smile. "Good idea, I've got some new things I wanna watch. Try not to slip on the ice patches, I've heard the one on Harbrow is quite nasty."

"**NOW!**" Mr. Banks thundered.

There was a shocked silence as the group tried to realize what had just happened.

Mrs. Banks decided to act like it had never happened. "It's filled with clothing that the kids have outgrown. I've decided to give it away to the Salvation Army."

"Oh." Mrs. Parker murmured.

Adam took this time to slip out. Walking around to his kitchen, he poured himself a glass of water and drained it, listening to the voices in the foyer fade. "I really need to get back to school."

* * *

I said I'd have this up in a week. I'm a liar. I'm so sorry.

Not my favorite of chapters but it's all for the development of the plot.

And I personally love C.S. Lewis.

R&R, please! I'd really appreciate it!

* * *

**Joanna: **Carmen is rather impressive, isn't she? Thank you so much for reviewing and your praise!

**Torithy:** Hey! Thanks so much for the review! I tried to make all the characters flow together and hopefully, I didn't do too shabby of a job. I try to make the situations as realistic as possible and I'm so giggly right now, it's not even funny. Lol, I babble when I'm excited.

**lkwREADer: **Hey, it's nice to finally meet you! Maddie is definitely not going to hurt herself and Adam has turned out rather well. I'm proud of my fussy, chivalrous ickle center! And I'm glad you enjoy him too. Thanks so much for the review!

**Tinkerbell821: **I can't hook Maddie and Adam up if I don't know how to! But due to the overwhelming demand for them as a couple, I'm working on it, please don't hurt me. And you're a dancer? That's pretty sweet. Maddie's based on my friend, who pretty much killed herself practicing for her senior showcase. Anyway, thanks for the review!

**The idiot who was too annoying: **Thanks for the review! I really hate clichéd Halloween costumes and I feel that the Eden Hall entourage is rather creative so why not give them unusual ones? Maddie knows what she needs to do and she's just trying to play the game. But nice to meet you and I hope to hear from you soon!

**Taryn Sparrow: **I love your reviews, they're so nice and LONG. I'm so glad that you don't get lost in my ridiculously complex plot. I have so many characters swirling around in my head and it gets hard to keep them to a minimum. I mean, they are in high school and should have other friends besides the Ducks, right? Dwayne is still in shock right now at having Allie as a girlfriend and no, Emily is not trying out for that spot. Maddie is much more serious about ballet than her. Bagel was probably sleeping and Willy was probably pulling a Banks and brooding. Connie puts up with a lot of stuff and her nerves were rather frazzled so she kinda lost it. Whew, thanks for the review!

**LoudandQuiet:** Hi! I'm smiling really wide right now because I've met another reviewer. But yeah, thanks for the review and as I told Tinkerbell821, I'm working on Adam and Maddie! Give me some time and I can ALMOST guarantee it happening. And Dylan's not gay. Just extremely fussy.

**Sphinx005: **Viagra makes me giggle. Sorry. Ahem, anyway. I was just going to send you a message asking what I should do about a potential plagiarism claim. But it's settled now so there's no need! Anyway, thank god Maddie doesn't have an eating disorder! Yikes, the thought crossed my mind but I dismissed it. She doesn't have the right mindset for something like that and she's too secure in herself. Thank you for the review!


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks._

– _Chapter Nine –_

* * *

A tall, slender girl walked through the airport, a duffel bag thrown over her shoulder. Her gait exuded grace and the natural refinement that all dancers seemed to share. Indeed, she caught the eyes of many as she eagerly searched the waiting crowds for a familiar flash of blond hair.

"Oi, Maggot!"

Turning in the direction of the voice and her face breaking out into an elated smile, Madison Kim felt herself run towards the handsome figure standing by the baggage claim. This boy was her reason for coming back to Minnesota a few days early in her winter vacation. Boarding school had taken its toll on her original social life, leaving her on the outside of the once close-knit group of friends. Maddie consoled herself by basking in the affections of her new friends, those she now considered family.

The blond boy grunted as he was met with the full impact of her hug. He wrapped his arms around her with a practiced ease and breathed in the comforting scent of vanilla. "Missed me?"

Her affirmative answer was muffled into his chest as she still had to let go. Dylan Howard grinned at his best friend's neediness and gave her one last squeeze before pushing her away. Shaking his hair out of his eyes, he automatically took the large duffel bag from her shoulder and together, they walked out of the airport.

"Anyway, where're my dogs?" Maddie immediately demanded, her priorities coming into focus.

"Your family ate them." Dylan answered with a completely straight face.

She let out a grin at the stereotype before frowning at him. "That's not funny. Those are my dogs you're making fun of."

"Forget the fact that I just made a politically incorrect statement, I just made a cruel joke about your dogs. Nice to know where _your_ head's at." The blond snorted.

"Oh whatever, so some Koreans eat dogs. White people eat deer." Maddie said dismissively before yanking impatiently at his sleeve. "They're ok, right? Did Willy behave? I made him promise not to threaten anybody…"

"Yes, yes, they're fine. Both of them are actually with Connie because her dad's out of town again and I figured she might want some company. Well…that and the monster brute went all alpha-male on me." Dylan sneered at the memory, offering her his hand.

Taking it, Maddie carefully stepped over a pile of snow and walked across the airport. "That's nice to hear. Is your mom waiting in the car?"

"Nope."

"Christina?"

"Nope."

"Your dad?"

"No."

"Are we taking a cab?"

"No, you idiot. _I _drove."

Maddie froze and stared at him. "What?"

"I got my license. And I got a car for Christmas. So I drove."

"But you're an _awful_ driver. How the hell did you _pass_?"

"Just get in." Dylan replied shortly, unlocking the doors of a sleek, silver BMW convertible. When his parents got him something, they really did go all out. "Maddie, I'm serious. I'm not going to crash. Now get in before you catch pneumonia…_again_."

"But…you _really_ suck."

"So does Emily Parker but that doesn't stop anyone from getting in her, does it?"

"Are you speaking from experience?"

"I hate you."

"I'm just saying…you _were_ a bit of a whore before."

"I hope your dogs drown."

"That was uncalled for."

"So was making out with Logan Spelling now, wasn't it?"

"That was last year!"

And so, the two friends buckled up tightly and drove for the Howard residence, bickering all the way.

* * *

"Charlie! Charlie!"

Charlie Conway bolted awake in his bed, his eyes wide and heart beating rapidly. He could've sworn he had heard someone screaming his name just seconds before.

"Charlie! Quickly!"

And that would be his mother.

Frantically, Charlie hurtled himself out of bed only to be brought down with a crash. Cursing the sheets that were tangled around his legs, he tore out of his room and down the hallway to his mother's. He threw open the door and witnessed his mother slowly getting out of bed with a very pale face. "Mom! What the fuck is going on?"

Casey Conway-Harding gritted her teeth and glared at her teenage son. "Language, Charlie."

"Sorry, sorry. Why are you getting out of bed? It's two in the morning!"

"My water broke."

"…"

"Get that bag in the corner, please?"

"I don't understand. _What_ broke?"

"My water broke, Charlie. It looks like I'm having the baby a bit early."

"_What?_"

Casey Conway gasped as she experienced a particularly painful contraction. "Get the car ready, please? We're going to have to go to the hospital."

"Mom!" Charlie wailed, his hands flying to his already bed-rumpled hair. "I don't _drive_!"

"Oh." Casey paused, still panting from that last contraction. "Then call a cab or something. Please, Charlie, just hurry. And put on some clothes." She said, gesturing at his boxer-clad self.

"Right." He mumbled, racing back to his bedroom and yanking on a shirt and jeans. His mother needed to go to the hospital. That required a car. Which required a driver. "Oh fuck it." He was hopelessly lost. Therefore Charlie did what he always did in times of uncertainty. Picking up his phone, he dialed a number that was memorized down to the last digit.

"Banksie? Banksie, wake up! I need help! I'm having a baby!"

* * *

Twenty-two minutes later, a shiny white Range Rover tore through the parking lot of Northern Minneapolis Hospital and screeched to a halt in front of the entrance. A tall young man leaped out and helped a curly haired pregnant woman descend from the car. The driver watched anxiously as the two managed into the hospital before taking out his phone.

Adam Banks snorted as he punched in a number. Charlie Conway was a natural born leader alright. He delegated responsibilities as easily as he breathed. His cry of "_Alert the troops, Banks!_" was still ringing in his ears. And so the task of waking people up at three in the morning had now been left to his sweater vested shoulders.

"_Banks…this better be good_." An extremely cranky sounding Connie Moreau mumbled through the phone.

Adam smiled without humor. "Apparently Charlie's having a baby. How long is it going to take you to get dressed?"

"…_Pick me up in fifteen_."

* * *

The only thing that was on the mind of Charlie Conway was how to appropriately murder his stepfather. The thought of an extremely messy decapitation particularly appealed to him. Or maybe swallowing a lit piece of dynamite…Carmen would have good ideas. Where was she again?

"Charlie, stop it." He looked up to see his panting mother smile wanly at him. "The baby's early and I'm sure James is on the next flight back."

"Yeah, well, he's not _here_, is he?" Charlie snapped waspishly, still refusing to forgive his stepfather for that ridiculous business trip he had decided to embark upon. So what if he had only left yesterday and was going to be back tomorrow? So what if it had been vital towards his job? His mother was having a _baby_! A _baby_! A miniature human being!

"Is it out yet?" He demanded.

Casey chose that time to undergo another painful contraction. "Shit, mom!" He hissed, rushing over to her side. That was it. He was _never_ getting a girl pregnant. _Never_.

"It's…o…kay," Casey panted, his face contorted with pain. "You were even worse than this."

Charlie determinedly swallowed a sound of indignation and concentrated on pushing back the damp curls back from his mom's forehead.

"Stop that!" Casey snapped, moving her head away from him irritably. "I know I look a mess, alright?"

Letting his hand immediately fall back to his side, Charlie looked at her large belly mutinously, blaming the fetus for everything that had happened in the past few hours. How was he supposed to know that women in labor didn't like to be touched? Everyone pushed back Maddie's hair when they were tucking her into bed, didn't they? It was comforting! He was so tired and confused and irritated. And where the hell was Banks?

As if on cue, Adam poked his head through the door, an anxious smile on his face. "Casey? Charlie? Everything alright?"

"Does it _look_ alright?" Charlie growled, folding his arms over his chest as he pouted slightly.

Casey turned to look at her son's best friend, a fond smile gracing her tired features. "Hello, Adam. Thank you so much for doing this. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"It's no problem, Casey." Adam replied easily, stepping into the room and holding the door open. "Someone else would like to see you though."

"Hi." Connie slipped in, looking wide awake and alert. "I hope you don't mind that I'm here."

"Not at all-" Casey started before giving a gasp as another contraction started. "Oh…fuck…ing…_hell_!"

Charlie's eyes widened as he listened to his mother curse. "Not too shabby, mother dearest."

"Shut…_up_." She grit out through clenched teeth. Her breaths were coming in short gasps and Connie hurriedly rushed over to her side. Somehow, Connie's presence seemed to soothe Casey's pain and the two soon engaged in a hushed conversation.

That only prompted Charlie to scowl harder and march over to his best friend. "How long is this supposed to take? I'm getting antsy and _she's,_" He jutted his chin out pugnaciously towards the bed-ridden woman. "-just getting more and more bad tempered. She should be friends with Carmen."

"She's in labor, Charlie." The other boy sighed, running a hand through his hair. Why was it always _his_ duty to baby-sit his oh-so-mannerly Captain?

There was a moment of stony silence before Charlie's eyes lit up with a manic gleam. "Hey, do you think if I pushed on her stomach hard enough, the baby will just pop on out?"

Adam groaned.

* * *

Jake Riley woke up to the ring of his friend's cell phone. More specifically, the incessant repeating phrase of "_There's_ _someone calling you! You better pick up! You better pick up_!"

Trust Dylan Howard to pick the most annoying ring tone he could find.

Scowling, Jake propped himself up on the couch and gazed blearily through the dark. Never having enjoyed the company of his own family too much, Jake was pretty much the newest addition to the Howards. Mrs. Howard treated him as a second son and hence, Jake had taken to practically living in Dylan's spacious suite during the holidays. The couch that he and Dylan had managed to get up there was now his personal bed and the loft held more than enough room for both of them.

Checking the time, Jake was even more irritated at the fact that it was almost five in the morning. It was the Ducks calling, he was sure of it. Blaming everything on the Ducks was one of the greatest defense mechanisms he had and this time he was almost positive that anyone with an _average_ IQ would not _call someone at bloody five in the morning_! "Dylan!"

There was a slight ruffling from the far side of the room, which stopped almost immediately.

Letting out a growl, Jake got up and stalked over to the other side of the attic, nearing his best friend's bed. Sure enough, the blond was passed out on one end, his head underneath his pillow, while Maddie was curled up into a ball at the other. The bed was littered with gossip magazines, empty cookie containers, soda cans, and what appeared to be a half full bag of vegetarian pita chips. This did not go well with Jake's rather fastidious nature as he looked upon them with disgust. "Dylan, pick up your damn phone!"

Dylan let out a groan and settled his pillow tighter around his head. "Make Maddie get it."

Jake grit his teeth as he looked upon the peacefully slumbering Maddie. Yeah, as if _she _would wake up to the sound of a cell phone. The girl slept like a log. "Tough luck, Dyl. She's sleeping. Now get up and answer it! It's driving me insane." He accentuated this statement with a stinging smack to his friend's back.

"Ow!" Dylan sat up, his hair sticking up all over the place as he glared at the other boy. _If only his fan club saw him now_, thought Jake dryly, tossing him his phone and walking back to his own sofa.

"What do you want, you overgrown piece of shit? Have the polo shirts attacked you?" Dylan barked into the hot pink phone, his mood not congenial at all. That all changed at the next sentence. "What? A baby? Well, why didn't you say so earlier, Banksie boy! We'll see you at the hospital!" And hanging up the phone, the blond hopped out of bed and started rummaging around for a clean shirt.

"Up you get, Maggot!" He chirped, flipping the girl off the bed with a sharp yank of the covers. Ignoring the moan of protest, Dylan skipped off into the bathroom.

Maddie sat up, trying to clear the fog from her head. "What's going on?" She mumbled sleepily.

"Charee's haffing a baybeh!" Dylan's toothpaste-laden voice came wafting out of the bathroom.

Jake shifted his position, trying to go back to sleep. "That's anatomically impossible." There was a slight pause before he continued with a slightly evil smirk. "But then again, it _is_ Conway. I always did have my suspicions about him. Complains a little too much to be full man."

But Maddie either didn't hear him or was too excited to care as she had gotten up and dashed over to her suitcase. She was dressed in about five seconds and had commandeered the bathroom in three. Dylan glared at the shut door indignantly before walking over to the other boy in the room. "Want to come?"

The dark haired boy didn't even open his eyes. "Where?"

"The hospital. Charlie's mom is in labor. Want to go?"

A brown eye cracked open. "You _must _be kidding me."

"Suit yourself." Dylan shrugged, pulling on his jacket. "We don't know when we'll be back. Ready to go, Mads?"

Maddie nodded, giving an enthusiastic wave goodbye to one of her favorite, if rather ill-tempered, boys in the world and followed Dylan down the staircase.

Heaving a sigh, Jake settled back among his pillows, grateful for the sudden quiet that engulfed the room. Then he abruptly realized exactly _what_ the implications of Dylan's statements were. "Oh fuck, there's going to be _more_ of them? As if the world needs more Ducks!" He groaned, hitting his head in frustration. It echoed the sudden crash from the driveway.

Running over to the window, Jake saw a frantic Dylan leap out of his car, set the garbage can he had run over upright, and yell "It's okay!" up to him. Jake needed to go back to sleep and perhaps, just perhaps, this would be all a dream.

* * *

_This is not happening to me_, Charlie thought as he stood awkwardly in the middle of a bustling delivery room. His mother had finally reached full dilation and been rushed to the delivery room, where she was currently panting like a dog in heat and looking like a strawberry blonde Medusa. Adam and Connie were hovering anxiously outside the room's window and part of Charlie wished to Heaven that he was with them.

But the other part of him knew that there was no way he would ever leave his mother to go through something as monumental as this alone. So he sucked it up and held his mother's hand tightly.

"I love you, Charlie." Casey murmured, her face pale and sweaty.

Charlie thought that she had never looked more beautiful in his life. "Love you too, Mom."

"Alright, Casey. On three," The doctor stepped up to her. "one, two, three…push!"

Casey did.

"Good girl. Again."

There was a sharp cry of anguish this time. Charlie couldn't tell if it was from his mother or him as he currently had no feeling in his hands. He wasn't going to faint. He wasn't going to faint. Think about something else.

"Again!"

_I wonder if it's like constipation_, Charlie thought rather inappropriately before he was snapped back to attention by the doctor.

"Young man, the baby's head has crowned. Would you like to see the birth of your sibling?"

Charlie gaped at the doctor, not knowing what to do. He was met with a squeeze from Casey's hand and looking down into those familiar apple green eyes, he was attacked with a sense of _rightness_. It had always been him and his mom. He had been the one there for her through everything. The epiphany hit him that, in all logic, there was no one more worthy of witnessing the birth of his mother's child than he, the most important man in his mother's life. "Sure."

And straining his head, he looked over.

And blanched.

Because it was absolutely disgusting.

How could _anyone_ call_ that_ the miracle of life? It made _him_ want to puke.

"Push!"

"There's a head being squeezed out of your…Christ, that had to have hurt something nasty." Charlie started to babble, unable to tear his eyes away from the messiness that was delivery.

The doctor gave a twitch of a smile and concentrated on her patient. "One more now…"

"Ouch, I just heard something rip. Hey, Mom! It's out!" Charlie exclaimed, looking entranced at the bloody, wailing infant in the doctor's arms.

Casey Conway-Harding collapsed back onto the bed and gazed up at her teenage son. "You and I…are going to have…a long talk…about…delivery room…etiquette." She gasped out, looking drained of all energy.

* * *

At precisely 6:14 AM on January 8th, 2007, Rebecca Conway-Harding was born to James and Casey Harding.

Connie breathed a sigh of happiness and turned to look at one of her closest friends with tears shining in her eyes. "It's over. Charlie has a little sister."

"And I'm sure she'll love to hear the commentary he made at her birth." Adam remarked dryly. Unbeknownst to Charlie, Adam and Connie had been able to hear everything that had been said in the delivery room. It was quite entertaining, actually, especially upon Charlie gleeful announcement that she looked "like a _cone head!_"

Letting out a laugh, Connie brushed back the hair from her eyes. Then, she saw a distraction in the form of what looked like the entire gift shop moving down the hallway at an alarming rate. "What the _hell_?"

The mound of blue stopped first and Dylan Howard's head poked out from behind it. "So is it out yet? And if it is, is it a chick or a dick?"

"A chick." Connie answered smoothly, looking curiously at the mound of pink which had staggered up to them. "_Maddie_?"

"Hi, Cons!" The girl beamed up at them, while holding an immense supply of pink baby gifts. "I forgot to tell you. I'm back early."

"You don't say." Adam said blandly as he immediately lifted the various paraphernalia from her hands and set it down on a nearby table. He calmly ignored Dylan's load and the resulting sputter of indignation that ensued. "Did you guys buy the whole _store?_"

"Of course not." Dylan retorted, giving him a snooty glance. "We didn't know what sex it was-"

"So naturally we couldn't decide what color to get-" Maddie continued.

"So we just got both-"

"We considered getting lavender-"

"But that's just too pouf-y-"

"And indecisive-"

"And something _Charlie_ would do."

Connie smiled at them before enveloping her roommate in a hug. She had missed the sweet-tempered New Yorker greatly and was glad to have her back. "You going to tell me why you're back so early?"

"Later." Maddie muttered, casting a sideways glance to Dylan. She loved the boy dearly but she _definitely_ did not want him finding out about her "friends" back home. He had an extremely vindictive temper and was unnaturally protective when it came to her, as was experienced by the whole Scott Pendleton fiasco. "Anyway, I really can't stand our automobile industry."

"Oh?" Adam asked, pulling Maddie away from Connie and folding her into his arms. "And what brought on this change in topic?"

"Do you _know_ how much fuel those SUVs guzzle?" Maddie huffed, her voice slightly muffled by the hockey player's chest. "I just saw a Range Rover outside. White. It was practically _screaming_ 'Look at me, I'm killing the environment!'"

Adam paled.

* * *

As Eden Hall entered the new term, there was the usual bustle of getting to know their new classes and everything that went with it. But for the juniors, there was slightly more to think about. College was suddenly looming over their heads and many were swamped in standardized testing on top of the accelerated workload of the Eden Hall curriculum.

Hence, Carmen Rivera did not have the fucking _time_ to deal with an insipid course such as _Health Education_.

Seriously debating on skipping the class, Carmen crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her program, as if it was responsible for her placement in the course. Disregarding the fact that all juniors were required to take it, the bottom line remained that it was a needless waste of valuable time and energy. Not to mention, the teacher was absolutely _mental_.

"Carmen…it's the first day. Even _I _don't cut on the first day." Guy Germaine sighed exasperatedly, coming up behind her with Goldberg in tow. He had correctly guessed her mutinous expression and gave her a slight push towards the door. "Come on. Get moving."

She fixed him an ice cold glare before reluctantly stepping inside. Taking a swift glance around, she nodded in resignation. Her fears were confirmed. The population of the classroom lacked anything resembling intellectual activity and along with their nutcase of a teacher, this class was shaping up to be one more irritation in her life. And she already had _ever_ so many.

"Well, don't you look lost." A voice sneered into her ear. Twisting around, she saw Jake Riley lounging in his seat surrounded by his entourage, with a permanent smirk twisting his lips. Her slowly developing ire was raised another notch. "Look, kids! Little Alice is lost in Wonderland and has no idea what's going on. Oh and if it isn't the Walrus and the Carpenter to keep her company." Jake drawled, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Guy and Goldberg.

Guy opened his mouth, intent on taking Jake's blatant bait but Carmen beat him to it. "Riley, I suggest you _not_ piss me off. Or you _will_ regret it." The message came out through clenched teeth and her amber eyes flashed with dire warning.

Jake shut his mouth and turned away, ostensibly to speak to the gaggle of adoring people surrounding him. Even he knew not to cross Carmen when her nerves were strung this tight, yet he had to save face among the masses.

"I _got_ to learn how she does that," Goldberg muttered to Guy as they hurriedly took seats next to the extremely peeved girl. "Or maybe it's just built into her?"

"Alright, settle down, settle down." A clear voice rang out and fixing their attention to the front of the classroom, they saw their teacher step around her desk. Tall and blonde, she looked to be in her early thirties and had a pleasant face, suited for smiling and laughter. Carmen didn't like it.

"I'm Amelia Slater. If you feel as if you must, you may call me Ms. Slater but I would prefer if you called me Mia." _Mia_ beamed at them, her blonde curls bouncing around her face. "Now I do things a little differently than other Health teachers might. I personally feel that it is more important to learn about the psychological elements concerning the human body, especially since you're going through adolescence, so we're going to mostly focus on the aspects of mental health. Now let's see…Allen, Travis?"

Goldberg leaned over. "This doesn't seem like it's going to be so bad. She seems smart."

"Yeah." Guy nodded, looking earnestly at a stony faced Carmen. "She's Connie's AP Psych teacher and apparently she got her Bachelor's and Master's in Psychology from Stanford. So she has to have _some_ brains. Here!" He called out as she reached his name.

Carmen gave a non-committal grunt and allowed her attention to wander as the teacher continued with the roll. However, her relatively unknown presence was about to get a rude awakening.

"Riley, Jacob?"

"Jake."

"I'll make a note of that! Rivera, Carmen?" Upon reaching her name, Mia looked up curiously and met Carmen's eyes. Recognition flashed in the older woman's and her face practically lit up with suppressed mirth. "So _you're_ the famous Carmen Rivera. I've heard a lot about you."

To Carmen's credit, she didn't even blink. The only movement in her face was the slight furrowing of her brows. "I beg your pardon?"

"You really are as pretty as he said you were." Mia marveled, completely ignoring the embarrassment she was putting her student through.

"He?" Carmen asked, hoping to God that Mia wasn't going to say the name.

Her teacher laughed delightedly, still peering closely at the Hispanic girl. "Why, Dylan Howard of course! I had the boy last semester and if I recall correctly, he was quite infatuated with you…but I'm sure you're aware of that."

_Yes, I'm quite aware of his infatuation with me. And so is everyone else_, Carmen thought, furiously trying to control her temper as the classroom filled with giggles, whispers and snickers. How was it that Howard managed to embarrass her when he wasn't even _here_?

"H-he spoke about me to _you_?" Carmen managed to get out without throwing up on herself.

Mia stopped laughing long enough to answer her question. "Well, I ended up finding out. You see, I assign journals later on in the term and somehow, most of his journal entries had some tidbit about you in them. Oh, how him and that friend of his, Maddie, used to make me laugh!"

"I'm sure they did." Carmen said flatly, remembering the bullshit journal entries that the two would come up with in her common room. The two had loved the class due to its easy coursework, the genial nature of their teacher and the fact that they actually had it together. The program office had been adamant about not switching any more classes around for the two of them, due to the complaints of the teachers.

Carmen snapped back to attention as Mia was still giggling and reminiscing about last term's juniors. "Anyway, I'm guessing he still hasn't succeeded in wooing you?"

Goldberg turned around to mouth to Guy in disbelief. "_Wooing_?" Guy quickly hid his snicker. Was this woman for real?

"No, we don't talk. At all. Ever."

"Pity. He's _such_ a charming young man, don't you think?"

Carmen's right eye gave a sudden twitch.

* * *

"Your lady love's staring at you again."

Adam Banks looked up from his locker to see Fulton Reed next to him. The dark haired boy nodded his head towards the far end of the corridor and Adam turned to meet Emily Parker's eyes. The usual uneasiness he felt towards her was now being replaced with irritation. _Why is she always around_, he thought bitterly, quickly putting away his books.

"Come on, Fult. Let's go." Adam muttered, hoisting his hockey bag over his shoulder and grabbing his stick. The other boy started laughing as the two walked down the hallway.

"Dude, you can't avoid her forever. You're a man! And men always need to show women their place." Fulton grinned, blatantly baiting Adam's gentleman qualities.

Raising an eyebrow, Adam regarded his friend. "I'll deal with it, Fulton. You happy now?"

"I would be if you would actually do it. She's starting to creep the rest of us out."

* * *

Dwayne Robertson let out a little yelp as a pair of slate grey eyes popped into his vision. Clutching the covers around his chest, he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart and take in the vision that was his lovely girlfriend. To her credit, she was quite calm as she smoothed back her hair.

"Morning, sweetheart." She smiled sweetly, taking a swift and disapproving glance around the room. Allie Howard was _definitely_ not a fan of messy boy rooms. "I have something to show you."

"A bit early, ain't it?" Dwayne asked blearily, grabbing his watch. "It's barely after six!"

Allie's eyes darkened as she crossed her arms. "I haven't gotten to spend _any_ time with you lately! In fact, I think I've been pretty damn generous with all of your practices! I know that those damn state championships are coming up and they're important to you so I kept quiet! Is it so wrong for me to want to spend some time with you?"

"Now, Allie-" The cowboy began pleadingly, noticing with some alarm that his girlfriend's voice was slowly increasing in volume and Luis would not appreciate the wake-up call.

The small girl furiously held up a hand, effectively stopping him mid-protest. "No! It's Sunday! The one day you don't have practice and _I have something to show you_!"

The sound that came out of Dwayne's mouth was hardly dignified. He really was quite tired due to those grueling practices that Coach Colbert was having them do and yet…by now Dwayne knew Allie well enough. And that meant he heard the ever so slight and carefully masked tremble in her voice. It also meant that he could see the even slighter crack in her hard, electric blue eyes. And in that infinitesimal sliver, he saw all her insecurity and hurt shine through.

Who would've thought? Allegra Howard was insecure? Preposterous. But Dwayne was a rather sensitive soul and had spent most of his childhood working near animals. Animals couldn't speak so one had to strive to understand them. Allie, in a sense, didn't speak. So Dwayne had to read her quietly and carefully and what he ended up seeing amazed him.

He had thought Allie was one of the most confusing girls he ever had the misfortune to meet. Then he had realized it was because she was one of the most _confused_ girls he had ever met. Distant from family, her friends not really being friends, the girl was a carefully covered mess. Perhaps the reason she was so attached to him was because he represented what she had never had. A wholesome, steady fellow who was all that he claimed to be.

Dwayne sighed and pushed his covers back. "I'll only take a minute."

The brilliant smile on her face always held a quiver of gratitude when he agreed to do something with her. And for Dwayne, that was enough.

* * *

"Who's my little precious? Who? Who? Yes, you are!"

It was a brilliant Sunday afternoon and Maddie Kim had sprawled out on the floor of her sitting room, completely intent on figuring out what kind of college she was looking for and completely forgoing it in favor of quality pet time. Bagel the beagle had absolutely no problems with that as he was currently ensconced in the lap of his lovely owner and was being coddled mercilessly.

Rotten Willy the Rottweiler knew that unless he brought her back to matters at hand, it would soon be his turn. And no amount of warning growls would keep the heedless chit from peppering his grumpy face with kisses. It was absolutely crushing for his guard dog ego.

Getting up on his massive haunches, the Rottweiler stalked over to the stack of college brochures and pushed them over to his master, letting out a pointed sniff.

The girl pouted at him, her arms tightening over her other, much smaller dog. "It's a pity you don't like Adam. You guys are like the same person."

Willy narrowed his eyes at her. Had she just compared him to a _human_? That was it. He wasn't going to be her alarm clock tomorrow, she could wake up by herself.

"Oh Willy." Maddie giggled, setting Bagel down on the floor and quickly grasping Willy before he could escape. "You're such a dear!"

The door banged open and for the first time, Willy was thankful for Dylan Howard's entrance. Disentangling himself from his master's embrace, he quickly ran out the door before it closed. It was time for his two mile run.

"Maggot. What the _hell_ are you doing?" The blond demanded, taking in her sprawled position on the floor, on a bed of college pamphlets.

"Trying to figure out what to do with the next four years of my life."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Maddie mumbled, picking up a Haverford College brochure half-heartedly. "You don't seem stressed about this. Everyone else is freaking out."

"That's cause I already know where I'm going." Dylan announced cheerfully, throwing his schoolbag on the couch and sitting down next to her. "All Howards have been going to St. Andrews since the seventeenth century. Well, Christina went to Princeton…but she's always been a little off. I'm going to St. Andrews."

Maddie stared at him. "So you're going because your _family_ went there?"

"Well, yeah." Dylan replied easily, rifling through the massive stacks of pamphlets. "Why wouldn't I go there? It's tradition."

"Dylan…it's in Scotland."

"Yeah…I'm still trying to come to terms with that." He shrugged. "Whatever. I technically am a citizen of the United Kingdom, you know."

Maddie nodded bemusedly. "I almost forgot. You were born there, weren't you? And didn't you live in Boston? When the Hell did you move to Minnesota?"

"Mom and Dad were in Glasgow on business when she had me. They were living in Boston at the time and we moved to Minnesota when I was six." Dylan said with a trace of bitterness. "Dad wanted to come back west. He'd had enough of the East Coast."

"Ah." Maddie murmured delicately before staring at a certain pamphlet hard. "So you're completely fine with what your family wants?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Maddie, what's wrong?"

She traced the crest on the brochure with a finger. "Daddy wants me to go to Columbia. He met my mom there, you know. Then my sister went. Hell, most of my family's gone there. And I guess it's my turn."

"Well…that shouldn't be that bad, right?" Dylan said, reaching over and pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Unless…you don't want to go."

Maddie sighed. "The more I think about it, the more I don't want to. I practically grew up on that campus. There's nothing new and exciting about it."

"I kind of know what you mean." The blond muttered after a pause. Maddie glanced at him before resolutely making up her mind.

"I don't think you should go to St. Andrews!"

Dylan stared at her in shock. "What?"

"I don't think you should go to St. Andrews." Maddie repeated, a little more firmly this time. "It's not for you."

"And what makes you say that?"

"It's an ocean away, Dyl! And you…you love America! And it's in _Fife_! What are you going to do, _golf? _This is going to sound kind of gross but you need energy, you need life and you need resources. I've always thought you would be the man on campus in some huge city. A place where you will never be bored, and let me tell you, you get bored _really_ easily. Can St. Andrews _honestly_ offer you all of that? And for God's sake, it's in Scotland! Why don't you bring your bagpipes while you're at it?" A sudden urge to march around, waving flags, filled her.

Her best friend stared at his hands for some time. Then a quiet "I don't know" punctured the silence. Dylan looked up at her. "Mads…it's tradition."

"Oh, don't I know it." She replied bitterly, glaring at the Columbia brochure.

"How are the other girls doing?" Dylan asked quickly, changing the subject.

Maddie sighed. "Carmen's been bombarded with something from just about every Ivy. Oxford's been sending her a lot of stuff but I doubt she's even going to apply. She can't stand British accents. Julie got a letter from Dartmouth. Connie's still looking around. Those two have to wait for scouts to call though."

"Yeah…looks like the Ducks are splitting up, aren't they." He murmured. "I don't think they've talked about it with each other though."

"No. Charlie's going to blow when they do."

"Indeed." The blond hesitated a second before turning towards her. "Harvard's recruiting Adam."

"What?" Maddie exclaimed, sitting straight up. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. They sent him a shit load of material. And he told me that he got a call the other night."

"That's amazing!" The girl grinned, her eyes shining with happiness for her friend.

Dylan sighed. "If Harvard takes him, he's the only one that will be going, Mads. None of the other Ducks besides Connie or Jules really have the grades or the talent to match his. And you _know_ how Charlie will take to that."

Maddie's smile faltered. It was true. The only male Duck with a GPA that came close to Adam's was Ken Wu and he had slipped to her one night that he was thinking about quitting hockey after high school. That had been a real surprise to say the least.

"Hey, buck up! We'll deal with it when it happens!" Her best friend suddenly said, his face breaking out into a smile. "I got Chinese take out outside. I'll be back."

As she watched him saunter out the door, Maddie bit her lip and glanced at the Columbia pamphlet in her hands. Resolutely making up her mind, she slipped the pamphlet into Dylan's book bag that was lying on the couch. And with a swoop of her arms, she dumped most of the other brochures into the garbage with the exception of a few. And at the top of the few that did not meet a garbage-y fate, was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

* * *

Dwayne smiled as one of the horses nuzzled his hand. "All three of them are here to stay?"

"Mmhmm." Allie nodded, brushing a piece of straw off her royal blue riding jacket. Surprisingly enough, Allie was an integral member of the equestrian team. Dwayne and she had spent many a memorable afternoon riding around the Eden Hall grounds and he was always pleased to see this hidden, earthy side of her. "That's Duchess. One of the sophomores has her."

"Which one did you get?" Her boyfriend asked, completely comfortable in the stable. It was a sort of home to him, after all. Maddie went to the concrete parking lot for solace, Julie went to the forest, and he went to the stables. It made sense.

Allie cocked her head in the direction of a pure white horse. It really was a beauty. Standing tall and proud, the horse looked snootily at the two of them. Obviously the two were going to have a time listening to each other. He watched as Allie stepped up to the stallion, staring at him coolly. "He's a right prick most of the time."

"Y'all are just going to have to learn to trust each other." Dwayne offered, still petting Duchess.

"Oh, cut the psychobabble bullshit. He's a self-centered ass and he knows it." Allie's eyes narrowed as she glared at her new riding partner. "I should've named you Dylan."

Dwayne smiled at the half-hearted jab at her cousin and stepped towards his girlfriend. "Well what did you name him?"

Allie's face was the picture of complete innocence, except for a gleam of mischievousness in her electric blue eyes. "Do you really want to know?"

"Of course I do."

"You're not going to like it. And Maddie's most _definitely_ not going to."

"Is it that bad?"

"He made a bad first impression on me. I was really pissed."

"It's not like you named him Glueface or anything."

"Close. I named him Elmer's."

* * *

Coach Colbert stuck his hands in his pockets as he watched his team engage in the rigorous set of drills he had assigned. States were in six days and time was of the essence. His boys – and two girls – had a real chance of winning and then there was always the matter of nationals. Old age had taught Noah Colbert about the sheer unpredictability of life and he knew that it could happen.

His team could make it all the way, if they worked hard enough. If they wanted it enough. If they believed enough.

His gaze fell on his star goalie. Julie "the Cat" Gaffney. She had come up to him last week, clutching in her hand a piece of paper from Dartmouth. They were expressing interest in her, she told him with glowing eyes. He had simply beamed at her with patriarchal pride and replied in the affirmative.

Colbert almost felt like whistling. He was tickled pink at the thought of one of his kids going to his alma mater. Maybe he was going soft in his old age.

"Pick up the pace, Greg! Or we're going to have to do more!" He called out cheerfully.

Nope. Guess not. He could still give orders like a drill sergeant. Noah Colbert smiled in anticipation. Life only got sweeter as one got older.

* * *

It was obvious that Dean Portman was having the time of his life.

Carmen scowled as she nervously ran her fingers through her hair. It was the night of the state championships and the Ducks had left the previous day for them, which were going to be held on the other side of the state. Most of Eden Hall was now gathered in the auditorium to watch the game be broadcasted on the big screen.

Or currently, watch Dean Portman giggle his way through annihilating a whole row of the opposing team. Was he drunk again?

"Leave your hair alone, Rivera. You'll get split ends. A major turn off." Dylan Howard chastised as he concentrated on the game. She ignored him. She was getting quite good at it.

"I don't understand this." Maddie lamented quietly, leaning over to whisper in Carmen's ear. "Hockey is so confusing. Everything's going on at once."

This was coming from the girl who decided to reinvent the rules of Monopoly one night because it just wasn't _interesting_ anymore.

Carmen snapped back to attention as the auditorium erupted in cheers and hollers. Connie had made a spectacular goal, bringing the score up to a tie. Then suddenly the cheers morphed into a crowd-wide gasp as Connie was suddenly and brutally checked.

And she wasn't getting up.

"Shit!" Dylan had stood up, his horrified eyes staring up at the comatose and still figure on the screen. Carmen gripped the arms of her seat as she saw a desperate Goldberg being held back and Fulton fighting tooth and nail to get past the guards. She hadn't moved. At all.

"Oh God." Dylan mumbled, gripping his hair, unable to tear his eyes off the screen. _Wake up, Connie. Come on. You guys are so close. It's not a victory if you're not there. Hell, you know that they can't even play without you there!_

A seat away, Carmen Rivera fought the unfamiliar panic that was threatening to overwhelm her. Her head was spinning, there was an odd sensation in her stomach and her eyes were burning.

And Maddie?

Well, Maddie had fainted dead away.

* * *

She didn't want to open her eyes.

There was a bright light that was creeping through her closed eyelids.

What the hell had happened?

A lot of white. Red figures. Blue figures. Icy air. Sweat.

She remembered moving effortlessly. There was no friction. And then a sharp pain.

Connie Moreau's eyes snapped open and she sat straight up. Trying to fight the dizziness that engulfed her, she grit her teeth and looked around her wildly. She was in the locker room and with an abnormal and unnecessary amount of people surrounding her. Swallowing the wave of nausea that hit her, Connie tried to not breathe in the scent of sweat and old hockey equipment that all locker rooms seemed to share.

"Miss Moreau, not too quickly-"

"Please lay back down-"

"Guys, she's awake!"

"What?"

"Easy, dear-"

"Coach Colbert, control your team-"

"She is in no condition to be assaulted-"

"Boys, stand back-"

"Connie! Let me through! I'm her boyfriend!"

"I'm her diaper buddy!"

"Everyone _freeze_!" A voice suddenly thundered in a tone that brooked no opposition and had so much frustration underlying it that it was quite unsettling.

Connie had never been so glad to hear that voice or the silence that succeeded it. "Julie?" She whimpered desperately, shying away from the medical trainers that surrounded and trying to focus her vision on the familiar figure.

"Right here, Cons." A warm, calloused hand gently guided her back down on the cot. "Just sit back until the dizziness passes. We're all here."

She closed her eyes, willing her heartbeat to slow down. She then smelt a comforting scent that brought to mind images of cigars, brandy, and old books. Her coach. The grandfather-like figure that always provided for his two girls on the all-male team. Finally, she felt herself calm down and she opened her eyes, grateful that her vision had cleared.

"What happened?"

"You got checked. And then you blacked out and you just woke up." A new voice said quietly. Connie turned to see Charlie hovering right next to Banks. Both of them were pale and haggard looking.

"No. The game. What happened in the game?" Connie asked determinedly, her eyes slowly traveling the room.

Julie sat down on the edge of the cot. "We won, Cons. Just barely, but we won. Fulton slapped one in at the last second…"

"So…we're going to nationals?"

"Yeah, babe." Charlie grinned at her.

* * *

"What are you doing?"

Carmen looked up and immediately rolled her eyes. "Piss off."

"Where are you going?" Dylan demanded, following her frantic moves throughout her sitting room. He gritted his teeth as she refused to answer him. After depositing a still unconscious Maddie upon an extremely concerned Dean Buckley, he had rushed off to find his lady love. To say that he was concerned about her was an understatement. Carmen's eyes were wide and dilated and her breaths were coming in short gasps. Her hands were trembling as they fingered a pair of car keys.

"Oh fuck no!" He cried, snatching the car keys out of her hand. She was in no condition to be driving…although even he had to admit that she was a pretty damn good driver. Better than him at least. It took a lot of skill to work that fancy black convertible she had come back with after break.

"Howard…I'm warning you. Give me the keys." Carmen spat, her voice hovering on hysteria. That just seemed to strengthen the handsome blond's resolve as he looked at her kindly. Gods, she was beautiful.

"Rivera…you're not yourself. Just take a seat and we'll find out what happened to Connie, alright?" Dylan said soothingly, holding his hands out in a universal peace gesture. He took a step towards the trembling girl who immediately took a step back and tried to hide her unbelievably shaking hands.

"Rivera…just calm down. Everything will be fine."

"No." Carmen growled, trying desperately to pull herself together. _Connie. Dear God, Connie._ "Howard, give me the car keys!"

"No."

"Howard, you fucking cunt!" Dylan tuned the rest of her insults out as he furiously thought of ways to get her to think rationally. It figured that she would lose it in this manner. What had happened to Connie had shaken her and he could see the impact it was having on Carmen's body. Never let it be said that Carmen didn't care about the few friends that she had.

"Please." This quietly spoken word jolted Dylan out of his musings more quickly than a kick would have. He turned in shock to stare at the helpless looking girl in front of him. His steel grey eyes met her watery amber ones. There was a silence as he felt himself weaken in lieu of those beautiful golden eyes.

Then…

Quick as a flash, she had snatched the keys out of his loosened grasp and triumphantly stuffed them in her pocket. Yanking on her jacket, Carmen shook her head at him. Dylan fought the urge to laugh. That was his girl, alright! "I'm fine, Howard. I just need to check is she's okay. Don't wait up."

Dylan quickly sobered up. "You're in no condition to drive. Connie will be fine. Let's call one of the boys right now, okay?"

"What do they know? _She's _the brains of the bunch! Now get out of my way before I _kill_ you!" Carmen was very close to screaming. And she _definitely_ was not in her right mindset. Carmen didn't lose her cool. Ever. And she certainly didn't let Dylan Howard this close to her under normal circumstances. "What did you just say? Speak up or don't waste my time!"

Dylan took another step closer to her. "I said I'm sorry…like really, really, really sorry…but this is necessary." And with that, he gave her a sharp and extremely hard rap on the head…with a metal Buddha statue that Russ had procured as a joke from somewhere. He caught her easily as she fell and picked her up.

As he walked over to her room, Dylan sighed. Not only was she going to have a very ugly bump on her head in the morning but he had a feeling that she was going to be quite upset with him. He raised an eyebrow at her bedding as he laid her down. Leopard print and black silk….how incredibly…hot. Dylan grinned and pulled her jacket and shoes off.

He wasn't _too_ worried. She'd get over it and realize that it was for her own good in the end. If anything, it just put off their inevitable marriage a few years. Whistling, he dropped a kiss on top of the unconscious girl's head and sauntered off in search of Maddie. Maybe she had woken up and they could find out if Connie was alive.

* * *

It was quite sad that the Ducks weren't idolized upon coming back to school. In fact, they were greeted with quite the opposite. Now they were _expected_ to win the national championships. How unfair was that?

Not to mention, just a wee bit stress-inducing.

Averman pushed his glasses up and wiggled his toes experimentally. He had found early on in his life that a few wiggles would de-stress him more quickly than a full body massage could. Not that he'd ever had one. But maybe if he got the chance…he'd heard it worked wonders for the complexion.

It was rather quiet in his dorm for a Saturday night. Averman realized suddenly that there were numerous parties scheduled on the other side of the campus. Oh well. He really didn't feel like walking all the way over there. He and Goldberg got enough exercise with Banks, thank you very much.

Nonetheless, he got up and started to wander around the rooms. The boys had all gone out, he was sure. But maybe the girls were still around. Averman had noticed they were quite the homebodies. Raising a hand, he knocked on their suite door.

"Come in."

Averman poked his head inside and indeed saw all the girls minus Julie in the sitting room. Connie was on her usual perch on the window ledge, looking out into the dreary winter night and Maddie was curled up on the sofa with Willy next to her. Carmen was scribbling away at her humongous desk that didn't fit in her own bedroom. "Where's Jules?"

"The boys took her out. They said she needed some fun." Connie answered, resuming her staring into the night. She had become uncommonly withdrawn after her accident and preferred to listen than speak. Averman wasn't sure how he felt about that. He kind of missed his old fiery diaper mate.

"Why didn't you guys go with them?" He asked, taking a seat and picking up a sleepy Bagel.

Carmen finally looked up at him derisively. "If you think I'm planning on going anywhere near Howard after that little stunt he pulled, you're delusional." She snapped, clearly remembering the pounding headache and humongous welt that had appeared on her head the next morning. Averman clearly remembered the pounding headache _he_ had gotten after the cataclysmic fight that ensued. It was at that time that he had decided that Dylan Howard was an idiot of the utmost magnitude. A rather absurd and lovable one but an idiot nonetheless. "How's your head, by the way?" he asked delicately.

She refused to dignify that with a reply and continued to work on…well, whatever it was that she did with her spare time. Averman occasionally dallied with the thought that she was an agent for some sort of secret organization that was the enemy of mankind and that she was deciphering complex passages of ancient texts in her quest for global domination. He had mentioned it in passing to Maddie one day to which she had rolled her eyes and replied "It's _Dylan _that's out for global domination, silly."

Averman took a look at the girl who was curled up on the couch. Christ, that girl could bend. Maddie gave him her trademark smile when she felt his eyes on her. "Adam threw a shit fit and said I couldn't go."

"Sounds like him." Averman snickered, remembering the vociferous protests that he had made when the other Ducks demanded he go out with them earlier that night. It made sense that he wouldn't want Maddie to attend a party like that. "Did he pull the Papa Banks routine?"

Maddie made a face before reaching for a throw that was just out of her grasp. "Yeah. He said there was going to be alcohol and drunken teenage boys and blah blah blah. He was getting quite worked up so I said I would stay behind. I really don't get him sometimes. He's a dear but he's quite confusing. Thanks, Willy." She murmured, as her massive monster of a dog brought the throw to her.

Averman had his own theories about Banks' protectiveness but he kept it to himself. Maddie was a smart girl, she could figure it out on her own. "And let me guess, the Bash Brothers abducted Julie because they said she needed to bond with them, everyone was being awkward about if Connie should come but in the end, left her alone because they figured she was still in delicate condition?"

Connie turned from the window with a slightly bitter smile. "Three for three, Aves. As usual." Averman got up and walked over to her, intent on cheering her up. It was his specialty. He could always get a rise out of his Velvet Hammer. Oooh that sounded dirty.

"I was thinking…Connie, dearest." He began in a sing song voice, face adorned with the goofy smile that he knew she hated. He inwardly congratulated himself at the slight scowl that creased her pretty face. "Now, now. Don't be all temperamental. Let's go out! Just you and me…we haven't had a play date in…what was it? Five years? Six years? Come on, you can buy me ice cream." He finished winsomely.

The small girl stared at him incredulously. "Averman, have you finally gone round the bend?"

"I think you should go, Connie." A voice mumbled. Turning her head slightly, Connie saw Maddie poke her head over the couch and give her a drowsy smile. "It'll be fun. You can go to Tempesto's for gelato. I recommend the stracciatella."

"She has a point, Cons." Carmen interrupted, pulling her reading glasses off. "You need some air and it'll be a nice change from…_this_." She finished distastefully, looking out the window to the Academic building in magnificent view. Her lip curled ever so slightly.

Connie sighed, hopping off the window sill. "Let me grab a jacket, Aves."

"Gelato it is!" Averman crowed. "By the way, I still insist on you paying."

* * *

Julie Gaffney loved her boys. She really did.

But that didn't mean that she could stand them. And right now, she _really_ couldn't stand them.

They had burst into her suite, trekking in mud, dirt and boy germs all over her new, freshly mopped floor and messed around with the order of _her_ magazines. Even Maddie's _dogs_ were cleaner than them! Anyway, now she was here in a disproportionately male suite, wearing a shirt that was too low cut for her liking, while her _boys _had scattered like the wind.

The effects of alcohol were everywhere. Girls were falling over, boys were becoming belligerent, couples were hooking up, and Portman had once again taken his shirt off. At least his torso was nice to look at. Julie shuddered as she saw another hairy chest that _definitely_ should have been kept covered. That was slightly nasty.

Not letting her face show any emotion – a trick she had picked up from Carmen – Julie calmly walked over to the coat check, handing her fourth beer can to someone on the way. She wasn't even tipsy. The Bash Brothers had found out the hard way that Julie could drink anyone underneath the table. She had a remarkably high tolerance and Guy had announced sagely that it was probably all stored in her boobs. Julie let it go because he was well on his way to being smashed. As opposed to the Bash Brothers who were _already_ smashed.

"Where're you off to, Jules?" Luis called, disentangling himself from an extremely curvy brunette. The brunette continued whatever ministrations she was doing, seemingly uncaring of her partner's lack of attention. Julie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Luis was a menace to women, period. Any hope that she might have had for him was disappearing at an alarming rate.

"I'm going back." She said dryly, pulling on her coat. "Have fun."

"Wait, Jules, come on. Stay a-" Whatever Luis had been about to say was lost to the world as his girl for the evening enveloped his lips in a kiss. He immediately forgot about Julie and concentrated on the new development.

She finally did roll her eyes as she stepped out of the suite. She walked down the hallway toward the staircase when someone toppled through the window in front of her. Stifling a scream, Julie stumbled back as the groaning figure rolled over. And finally revealed his face.

"Dean Portman, get your ass up right this second." Julie growled, feeling the last vestiges of control she had over her temper slip away. This was absolute _insanity_. "Now."

"Jules?" Portman grinned suddenly, scrambling up. "I was just looking for you!"

"I'm sure you were." The goalie replied, noticing he _still_ didn't have his shirt on. Funny what being on a co-ed team would make you immune to. Julie rarely ever blushed now at the naked male body. "Portman, go put on a shirt."

Portman stumbled towards her, still grinning like a loon. "I would but Kelly has it. She likes me. Shhh! I'm not supposed to tell anyone! She told me while I was going down-"

"Portman!"

"Sorry. My bad." Portman babbled, suddenly coming to a stop right in front of her. "Jules…why'd you go out with Banks?"

To say Julie was shocked was an understatement. "What?"

"At the Goodwill Games…why'd you go out with him?" he asked again, looking very intent on the answer.

Julie frowned, not understanding why this was so important. "It wasn't anything serious, Port. We only went out for what was it…two and a half weeks? It was your typical middle school relationship. We were only thirteen after all."

"But why? Why him?"

"I-I'm not sure. I guess it was mostly because he was attractive and he actually looked at me as a girl." She added that last part with a small, rueful smile. Oh, how many boys had thought of her as a lesbian. Just because she played hockey. Yes, Adam had actually _noticed_ her. And that more than anything else had swept her off her feet.

"I look at you as a girl." Julie suddenly realized that Portman was extremely close to her and she had backed up to the wall behind her. What the hell was going on? "I know you do, Port."

Portman shook his head, his eyes looking almost vulnerable at her. "No, Jules. I _really_ look at you as a girl. I think you're beautiful."

This was _not_ happening. This was _so_ not happening. Julie's heart started to beat faster as the space between the two got smaller. No, this was a dream and she was going to wake up in the morning with no recollection of it! Okay, that was his hand on her hip. She felt it. Maybe it wasn't a dream. No! Not dream…nightmare! "Portman, stop. You're just really drunk and horny…let's find you that girl-"

"No." Portman answered simply.

Julie wanted to scream in frustration. She had no idea what to do. Wait…what exactly was her body doing? That was so not _her_ that had just leaned into his touch, right? Oh God. Oh dear lord! She was going to Hell. This was incest. This had to be illegal in at least thirteen countries.

"Portman…you bett-"

He kissed her. He kissed her like he had wanted to kiss her all those years ago.

* * *

Connie and Averman went way back. Like way, way, way back. As Averman had put it, they were diaper mates. Averman's mom had been the one who taught Connie how to cook and how to do laundry. She was one of the recipients of the numerous Mother's Day cards that Connie made, due to the lack of her own mother. She was the one who baked a red velvet cake for Connie's birthday every year.

And so Connie and Averman were pretty damn close.

That fact helped make this "play date" a success.

The two had been laughing nonstop and the old Connie had finally come back. Her laugh was vibrant, her cheeks rosy and the sparkle in her dark eyes rivaled that of the stars. Averman was satisfied in his mission. They had come to a coffee shop in downtown Minneapolis after they had gorged themselves on gelato, Connie indeed paying. Throughout it all had been laughter, jokes, little revelations and the ease of familiarity.

But Averman had realized that somewhere along the way, their little tomboy Connie had grown up into quite a different person. And it also hit him that out of _all_ the Ducks, perhaps _he_ was the only one who had realized it. He stared at his childhood friend take a sip of her coffee and wondered how he had missed such a dramatic change.

Physical beauty wise, she wasn't very different. Connie had always been a looker and now at sixteen and in the prime of youth, she was beautiful. She wasn't drop dead gorgeous like Carmen nor did she have the delicate exoticness of Maddie, but there was just something captivating about her face. A certain unexpected loveliness that you couldn't really put a finger on but was there nonetheless.

No, Connie was still beautiful. That hadn't changed. Her style and mannerisms had changed. Without anyone noticing, Connie had become a _woman_.

She sipped her coffee again, delicately sniffing the rich aroma of some sort of Turkish blend. When had she become a coffee connoisseur? Averman couldn't even remember when she had started to drink the stuff. She had always been a "Just water, please" type of girl.

As Connie continued to talk, Averman let his gaze wander across her body. Small and lithe, she had the sinewy build of a gymnast. One would never guess her sport of choice was hockey. Especially with the rather feminine style of clothing she had taken to wearing during the recent years. Even now she was dressed in a billowing, cream colored tunic over a tight pair of jeans that were tucked into distressed, brown leather boots while her extremely long hair was kept out of her face by a Moroccan headscarf.

The Connie of olden days would have called this new one a hippie.

"When did this happen, Cons?" The question slipped out before he could stop it.

"When did what happen?" His childhood friend asked with an amused glance at him.

Averman sighed and pushed his glasses up. He gazed at her fondly. "You grew up and left us behind, Connie. And I think I'm the first to realize."

Connie stared at him for a couple seconds before giving him a slow smile. It was a sad, wistful little smile and one could see that she understood what he had meant. "It happens eventually."

"True. It does. Ah well. At least you didn't get fat."

"Aves!"

"What?" He laughed, scratching his red hair. "I saw Tammy Duncan during the Christmas holidays and the girl got _huge_."

"You're terrible."

"No. Just annoyingly realistic."

There was a minute or so of reflective silence before Connie spoke again.

"You are, you know."

"I'm what?"

"You're the only one out of the old crew who's realized I'm different."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Fulton, Banks, Goldberg. They all think I'm the same as I was three years ago."

"What about Charlie?"

There was a poignant pause. "Charlie _especially_."

Averman suddenly looked at her very carefully. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing except the bottom line."

"Connie…Connie, are you and," Averman didn't know if he wanted to pursue this. "Are you and Charlie…having…uh…issues?"

Her coffee cup suddenly became very interesting. "Define issues."

_Define issues?_ Averman thought incredulously. "Are you and Charlie breaking up?"

"No. At least not at the moment." Connie suddenly looked exhausted. She rested her head in her hands and stared into her empty cup. "I just don't know."

Averman leaned forward, still trying to comprehend the apparent disintegration of the ideal couple. "Connie. What's going on?"

"I still love him, Aves, I really do." The brunette said desperately, meeting his eyes with watery brown ones. "Only…it's the love I feel for you, Banks, Ken, you know? That spark is gone. I don't know when it happened or how but it's gone. And I know he feels it too. We still talk but we don't kiss or hold hands…hell, we barely even touch each other anymore! It's not awkward or anything really, we're still best friends but I get more and more annoyed with stuff he does that I used to find adorable. I'm always the one taking care of him and…" She took a deep breath.

Averman didn't say anything. He knew that it would be easier for you if she got it all out in one big swoop.

"Charlie doesn't like change." She stated flatly. "He's hoping there'll be an offer for all the Ducks at some university. And I think he wants to stay here. Charlie hasn't grown up at all. He's made major improvements in his character but he doesn't understand-" Connie looked up at her friend once more despairingly. "Les, I can't stay here! I need to get out and experience something _completely_ different! My whole life has been molded by the Ducks. I just need to…break free."

"I understand, Cons." He said comfortingly, reaching over to pat her hand. And he did. Connie was like a caged bird at the moment and Charlie was, in essence, the cage. It was obvious she loved him but maybe the love had morphed into a platonic one. "You need to tell him, Cons."

"I know." She said simply, reaching for her coat. "Trust me, it's coming up. Just wait til this college shit _really _hits the fan. Then it'll be a nonstop party. Let's go."

"Where're we going?"

"There." Connie said determinedly, pointing across the street to a piercing and tattoo parlor. "We're going to pierce my nose. Come on."

* * *

Guy Germaine was pretty positive that he was going to be hearing the screaming and wailing of a baby for a very long time.

His Saturday night had been cut short when Charlie had gotten a call from his mother, asking him to take care of the baby for a few hours. Charlie had agreed, miraculously become sober in an instant and flitting about the party, gotten his chauffeur (Banks), rounded up his entourage (Dylan), and finally picked up the one who he felt knew the most about infants (Guy).

Never mind the fact that Guy had specifically stated he didn't know a thing about babies except how to change their diaper.

This baby didn't need to have her diaper changed. After about ten minutes of nonstop crying, Adam had finally been forced to check if she needed changing. All the boys had skived off, saying that there was no way in hell they were going to look at an infant's private parts. Then they had calmly stated that Adam was the logical choice to do it because he was just a freak like that.

He hadn't been amused. Especially when it turned out that he had done it for nothing as there was no sign of fecal matters anywhere the baby's bottom. And Becky still had yet to shut up.

"Christ." Charlie moaned, slumping onto the bed. "Make it stop."

"What did you expect?" Dylan snapped, collapsing down next to him. "It shares your gene pool, of course it's not going to be rational."

Adam buried his head in his hands. His role in the Mighty Ducks was now officially babysitter extraordinaire. Forget his job as star center. He had to take care of the Conways.

Guy gave a muffled grunt as he stuffed a pillow over his head. It actually helped a great deal now that he thought of it. Maybe he could take a nap…

"Maybe it's just sleepy." Charlie said, getting up and walking over to his baby sister.

"She." Adam corrected half-heartedly. "Get her to sleep then."

"How do we do that?"

Dylan also got up and walked over to Becky Conway-Harding. "My sister used to sing me lullabies."

"Okay." Charlie nodded. "Do you know any?"

"No."

"Oh."

There were a few more minutes of wailing before Dylan spoke.

"Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister."

Charlie stared at him for a second before resignedly saying the next verse. "He met Marmalade down in old Moulin Rouge, struttin' her stuff on the street-"

"She said 'Hello, hey Joe, you wanna give it a go?' Woah!" Dylan grinned.

"Gitchie, gitchie, ya ya da da!"

"Gitchie, gitchie ya ya here!"

"Mocha chocolata ya ya!"

"Creole Lady Marmalaaaaaade!"

"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?"

"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?"

Adam stared at the two teenage boys as they proceeded to dance and sing their way through the absolutely vulgar song. How the hell did they even know all the words and…oh God! The image of Charlie shimmying was now engrained in his mind. Why did these two do this to him? They seemed to make it their hobby to irritate him.

"Come on, Banksie! You get Lil Kim's rap!" Charlie sang, doing a little twirl.

The other boy glared at him. "I…don't…rap." He said shortly and through clenched teeth. "And you guys can shut up now. She's asleep."

"Hey, it worked!" Dylan exclaimed, peering over the edge of the crib.

Charlie sighed happily. "Took her long enough. Do you think this is what Mom goes through every night?"

"Pretty much yes." The boys turned to see Casey in the doorway, looking at them with a grin. "Although my tactics aren't as creative as yours."

Dylan didn't even bat an eye. Giving her a roguish smirk, he shrugged. "What can I say? My hips don't lie."

* * *

Connie stared at the tiny, golden ball that was now affixed to her nostril. Part of her couldn't believe that she had actually gone through with it. The other part of her exulted in it. And no part of her was truly upset or regretful.

"What do you think, Aves?" She asked the redhead who came around to get a closer look.

He peered at it from one angle, then cocked his head to look at it in a different light. Finally seeming satisfied, he straightened and nodded.

"It's okay?"

"Honestly?"

"No, lie to me! Of course, honestly."

Averman pursed his lips and spoke quite sagely. "It looks like a pimple."

* * *

**LoudandQuiet:** I'm glad you like Angie's character. She's one of my favorites. And I tried to make Emily into a real person. In so many stories, the "evil" girl is just a bitch who deserves to die but that's hardly the case in reality. I tried to give her a personality and motives and I hope it's good. Anyway, thanks so much for the review!

**Kels03:** You just compared me to Harry Potter fanfics and to say that I'm flattered is an understatement. Harry Potter is a realm that I haven't even dared to venture into. If you check out my favorites list, there's two fics in there that are simply amazing. The Ends of the Earth could actually be Book 7 of the series, it's so canon! Except for the DHr pairing. But that's my guilty pleasure so check it out if you like! Thanks so much for the review!

**Sphinx005: **Bagel wouldn't bite anybody, he's such a pampered little doll. Dylan did get to touch Carmen though, didn't he? Granted, he knocked Carmen unconscious first but still…thanks so much for the review, sweets!

**lkwReader: **Thanks so much for the review! I actually do have a couple ideas for Adam and Maddie, I'm gonna see if they work out. This story just popped into my head fully formed so I try to work in extraneous material as I go.

**Joshysgirl: **I'd totally do Dylan. I think most girls would. I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter, I live to make you smile. Thanks for the review, toots!

**Harum-scarum: **did someone ask for some Julie/Portman? Like oh my god, she did! What do you know…haha, thanks for the praise and the review! Hope you liked this chapter as well!

* * *

Hey guys. This chapter feels a little angsty.

Maybe it's just me.

Eh.

P.S. I'm planning on completely revamping Growing Pains this summer. I can barely stand to read the first ten or so chapters anymore. Eugh.


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I hate disclaimers. Because they make me feel like shit. Rubbing it in my face all the time, that I don't own the Mighty Ducks. Fie, for shame._

– _Chapter Ten –_

* * *

"Miss Moreau?"

Connie turned with a small smile. It hadn't even been thirty minutes since the Ducks had swept away the National championships that had been held in Detroit and the victory she felt was like nothing she had ever experienced. It had been an oddly easy win against their Massachusetts opponents and everyone had been appropriately ecstatic about their uninjured and victorious selves. The boys had then cited a need for extreme festivities, deciding to move the celebration back to the hotel, and only stopping the party for an _extremely_ quick shower in the locker rooms. They had to revel in their triumph, Coach Colbert could take care of the media.

And of course, Connie and Julie had been left to wallow in the locker rooms for as long as they wanted. Julie, for some reason, seemed to be intent on avoiding the party as much as possible and was still in the shower. A mumbled "Go on ahead. I'll meet you back at the hotel" had been heard from the stall as Connie left the locker rooms to see about catching a cab. The boys, including her apparent boyfriend, had left the two girls in the middle of Detroit without a single thought.

_How considerate of them_, Connie thought dryly before turning to face the speaker. He was a middle aged man, who looked as if he was once powerfully built back in the day. Dressed in a pressed, black suit, he carried himself with presence and he smiled at her in turn as he extended his hand. "Jack Callahan, Miss Moreau. Congratulations on your win."

"Just Connie, please. And thank you." She replied, shaking it and mentally berating herself for looking so sloppy in front of such professionalism.

"Well then, Connie. I'm the Head Scout from Brown University. And as we've been looking at your files for quite some time, we'd be honored if you'd consider an application."

It was as if the world had stopped rotating on its axis. Connie gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing in shock and disbelief. Finally, she decided to let out some sort of noise which unfortunately took the form of an undignified squeak. Blushing furiously, she collected herself. "I'm sorry. Did you just say that…_Brown_ is interested in recruiting me?"

Mr. Callahan smiled. "Indeed. I know you're probably intent on celebrating with your teammates but if you'll only spare me ten minutes, there's a wonderful little coffee shop on the next block. I have some information you might want to hear."

Connie beamed at him, shifting her hockey bag on one shoulder. "Absolutely."

* * *

Maddie Kim was currently playing operator. And she had decided that she was grateful she lived in the 21st century where women were allowed a larger variety of employment options because telephone operating totally sucked _balls_.

It had first started when her cell phone rang at 8:14 that night. It had been Adam, telling her about their victory. She had been appropriately happy for him and then inappropriately explicit on how she thought he should celebrate, to which he, no doubt blushing like the shy, prudish dear he was, promptly hung up on her.

Then Maddie was left alone in her sitting room to contemplate the state of the other empty suites that surrounded her. The Ducks were all in Detroit that Saturday night and wouldn't be getting back until the next day. Carmen was off terrorizing someone somewhere and Dylan was probably stalking her. Willy had gone on his usual run and Maddie had an inkling that Bagel had found a girlfriend in Dean Buckley's prized West Highland terrier. She came to the conclusion that she was slightly bored.

Then her cell phone had rung again at 8:36. It had been Dylan Howard who, after whining about the plight of his love life for a bit, announced he was meeting Jake Riley and getting completely sloshed in honor of the Ducks' triumph. Stifling Maddie's slight protest, he informed her that most of the campus was well on their way to a rather dangerous level of inebriation. It just went to show how teenagers used any excuse to get wasted.

At 8:41, their suite's phone had rung. It had been the Northern Minneapolis Times, wanting an interview with Connie, Julie, or anyone. Maddie had answered politely that no one was there and to call back in precisely 29 hours.

Her cell phone rang at 8:49. It was Carmen, asking what she wanted for dinner. That was a happy call. Maddie loved Carmen and _especially_ loved Carmen when she brought food.

Then at 8:58, the suite's phone rang again. It had been a basement flooding insurance company, asking her if she wanted to invest. Maddie had listened to them intently, asking questions if the occasion arose and overall, being the polite little sweetheart she always was. Then just as the speaker asked for her credit card number, completely thrilled that he was about to make a sale, Maddie had informed him quite gravely that she was under 18, had never owned a basement in her life, much less now, but that if she ever felt the need to get a basement, he would be the first person she would call.

That had been slightly entertaining.

By 9:27, three more newspapers had called. Maddie's voice was starting to crack and she was beginning to hate the invention of the telephone.

At 9:32, Connie called her. That was exciting because Brown was recruiting her. Maddie perked up, basking in the triumphant voice of her roommate. Willy came in during this time and settled across her feet, warming them.

At 9:34, Carmen came in with a vegetable casserole. Maddie eagerly passed the phone towards the curvy blonde in exchange for the sustenance and half listened to her best friend talk.

Gordon Bombay called at 9:46. He mentioned something about another Goodwill Games in the upcoming summer and that he'd be visiting the next month. Maddie was too tired to inquire more and wrote down the message on the back of her history notes.

Another magazine called at 9:53. Maddie told them that the penguins were coming and promptly hung up.

The suite's phone rang again at 10:02. This time, the woman asked for Carmen. Carmen was in the shower. The woman told a rather delirious Maddie that she was Carmen's mother and to please inform Carmen that her father had accepted a position at the International Monetary Fund and hence, their family had relocated to Washington, D.C. Maddie obediently wrote it down and wished the harried woman good night.

Dylan called at 10:11. He said he had a present for her. Maddie hung up on him.

At 10:18, her cell phone rang. It was her daddy. That was nice. She missed her daddy a lot.

Carmen came out of the shower. A dazed and drowsy Maddie told her that her family had moved to Washington, D.C. She watched Carmen turn white with fury and rush to her room, probably to call her parents. That was going to be loud.

At 10:32, the phone rang again. Maddie disconnected the cable. She turned off her cell phone and staggered into her bedroom. She needed to sleep.

At 12:59, Dylan Howard lurched into her bedroom, knocking over her chair in the process and irritating Willy to no bounds. Beaming at her, he pulled out a furry little sphere of white from his pocket, told her he had named it The Ball, dropped a sloppy kiss on the top of her head and passed out on Connie's bed.

Maddie's sleepy brown eyes stared into what appeared to be a kitten's equally sleepy blue eyes. And true to form, she shrugged, tucked the tiny lump into a soft corner of her bed and went back to sleep.

* * *

Julie Gaffney was by no means a coward.

There was no fucking way you could stop 70 mph pucks by being a coward. The whole damn team joked how she and Connie occasionally had more spine than all the boys put together. Julie personally felt that that didn't say much. Charlie was too whiny to be much help, Goldberg would pee in his pants at the first sign of danger, and Adam didn't have balls period.

No, she wasn't a coward. She was logical, a strategist if you will. Therefore she knew when to avoid a confrontation or an obstacle. And Dean Portman happened to be one huge hell of an obstacle.

After he had practically forced himself – yes, she was going to maintain that that…_thing_…that had transpired between them was completely out of her control – upon her, he had stopped to catch his breath and then promptly passed out. Julie had never been so thankful for alcohol in her entire life as she quickly fled the scene.

He hadn't been able to remember a single thing the next morning and Julie was amazed at her unnatural good luck. Portman had questioned her if he had done anything stupid to which Julie had breezily and good naturedly replied "Not more than usual."

Her conscious mind was ready to forget that it had all happened.

Her subconscious was another story.

Every single bloody night, she relived that encounter over and over again. Every time her thoughts wandered, it was to that stupid encounter. It was driving her mad.

And since when was Portman _everywhere_?

After that fateful night, he and Fulton seemed to be popping up everywhere she was! And of course, being the delinquents they were, they always chose to speak to Julie rather than go to class. When she had complained about it to Connie, the girl had just smiled at her in amusement.

Apparently, the Bash Brothers and she had always been in each other's company. Just as Connie had Charlie and Averman always around her, Julie had Portman and Fulton. She had had no idea.

So she started to avoid them at all costs. Whether it was citing a sudden need to study or just plain taking the long way to class, Julie thought she was doing a marvelous job. She also thanked the heavens that she and Connie had been put on a different floor than the boys. As she stepped inside the elevator of her hotel, she shuddered at the thought of spending an extended and extremely awkward period of time with Portman.

Julie scowled at the thought of him. He was insane. Not once, never, ever! Never had he even let on a single clue of how he felt about her…which, of course, led her to question if he had even been sincere in his declaration.

So caught up in her musings, she didn't notice the elevator stop on the sixth floor. Which incidentally happened to be the floor where the boys were situated, which explained the loud music that could be heard before the doors even opened. Julie had the unfortunate tendency to completely tune out the outside world when she was concentrating on something.

"Jules?"

She let out a strangled yelp. _Oh fuck_.

Fulton Reed raised an eyebrow at the shocked face of his friend. Beside him, Ken Wu and Dean Portman both looked curiously at the frozen girl.

"Jules, where've you been? The party's been poppin' non-stop and you and Cons have been MIA! Totally not cool, man." Fulton scolded, gesturing to the loudness that consisted of the sixth floor.

"Yeah, we were just coming to get you girls! Can't keep the party alive without our ladies, right?" Portman asked, flashing Julie a heart-melting smile. Julie tried to smile back but somewhere along the way, her facial muscles failed her, the end result being a constipated grimace. "Where's the other one anyway?" He then asked, peering into the elevator as if Julie was hiding her.

"Um, I don't know, she's probably around. Listen, I'm not feeling well, so I'm just going to go up! Have fun!" Julie gasped, rapidly hitting the close-door button so that it shut right in their surprised faces.

_Get a grip, Jules_, she thought as she slumped against the elevator doors. _Just get a grip for everyone's sake_.

* * *

Fulton blinked and turned to his friends. "Is it just me or was that really weird?"

"It wasn't just you." Portman frowned, still staring at the elevator. "She's been acting really off lately. She's been avoiding me and gets really nervous whenever I talk to her. I don't know if it's me or her but it's starting to piss me off."

Ken Wu bent to tie his shoelace, not looking at the other two boys. "You don't have any idea why she might be acting that way?"

"No, dude." The burly enforcer shook his head. "Ever since that party we dragged her to…hey, maybe it's because we made her go? She didn't really want to…"

"Nah, man." Fulton dismissed the notion. "She's always happy to spend time with us."

"Then how do you explain what just happened?" The other Bash Brother shot back.

"Did you do anything to upset her?"

"No! Well…I don't think so."

Ken quickly decided to occupy his two not so gentle giants before he tackled the problem himself. And so he used the most cliché excuse of them all…which probably would have gotten him in quite a bit of trouble from his female teammates if one hadn't turned completely mental and the other was even in the general vicinity of the metropolitan area. "It's probably just a girl thing. Let's not worry about it and just enjoy the party."

Portman blinked. It was so simple! "A girl thing…" He repeated, as if in awe. "That makes perfect sense!"

"Word, dude!" Fulton agreed, as he immediately spun on his heel towards the direction of the party. "She's like…_lactating_ or something! She'll be good as new in a couple weeks!"

Finally, Ken indulged in his long awaited eye roll and set off towards his room. He had to figure out how to approach Julie…he didn't want to scare her away, did he? Or worse…get her angry.

Because he knew exactly why she was so uncomfortable around Portman. When Portman had disappeared from the party, a resigned Ken had been sent to find him and what a sight had met his eyes. Yes, the dry humping that had taken place against the wall had turned into quite a dilemma, hadn't it. It appeared that Portman had been hiding a secret little attraction from everyone.

Ken gave a little sigh. Sometimes, Portman was more trouble than Maddie and Dylan combined.

* * *

Early the next morning, Carmen Rivera awoke to the sound of pitiful whining. Immediately becoming alert, she climbed out of bed and quickly stepped into the adjacent room. There she saw, sitting outside Connie and Maddie's room, an extremely unhappy Bagel who shuffled over upon seeing her.

"Hey, boy. I thought you were Charlie for a second." Carmen murmured softly, picking up the small dog. "Where've you been?"

_Locked out, obviously_. Bagel replied grumpily and fruitlessly. For Carmen didn't speak dog. She spoke three other languages but unfortunately she had never taken the time to learn the tongue of beasts. It just never happened. You know how those things are.

"Maddie's been worried sick about you. You should know when to come back."

_I have no need for rules. I'm a rebel, lady_. The beagle thought pugnaciously as he watched Carmen turn the knob. _Finally! I can sleep in my own bed…which is occupied…by…a _CAT!

Carmen frowned at the sudden stillness of Bagel and followed his gaze to a corner of Maddie's bed. Peering closer, she saw the reason for his sudden predatory stance. There lay a tiny little ball of fur snuggled next to her best friend's cheek. She then noticed the overturned chair and wastebasket followed by what appeared to be most of Maddie's textbooks and a broken lamp strewn along the floor on the way to Connie's bed.

And of course, lying in the tumultuous mess of sheets, lay a half naked Dylan Howard.

In his comfortable spot by Maddie's bed, Willy gave a satisfied sigh as he practically felt the anger build in the blonde girl. He kind of admired the magnitude of bad temper she was capable of and if last night's shock of her family's relocation had any impact, that idiotic boy of his master's was going to be in for an extremely rough morning. Willy resisted the urge to howl in glee. He was so much more dignified than that.

Unlike the young runt, who looked about ready to kill the feline that had taken his spot. Willy rolled his eyes. Bagel still hadn't realized that big, stupid humans were so much more fun to antagonize than small, intelligent, claw wielding cats.

"HOWARD, GET YOUR SCRAWNY ASS UP RIGHT THIS SECOND!"

And there she blows.

* * *

The first thing that Dylan Howard saw when he popped open his eyes was the girl of his dreams dressed in a curve hugging, lacy black slip, looking furious and so utterly delectable.

So it wasn't _really_ his fault when his mouth opened involuntarily and out came words that were a warrant for his death. "I must say, Rivera, that slip does wonders for your figure. You should wear that to class."

Bagel put his paw over his face. He loved the blond boy human greatly but had to admit that he was an absolute idiot when it came to the smart girl human. Only humans could be that dense, he supposed.

"You have one minute to explain this mess." Carmen stated quietly and dangerously, her amber eyes glowing with ire. "And I suggest you start talking quickly and clearly."

"You can't honestly expect me to think clearly when you're dressed in that, can you?" Dylan smirked as he raked his gaze over her curves with obvious enjoyment. "How many more of those do you have, anyway?"

"Six." A sleepy Maddie mumbled as she sat upright in her bed and gazed blearily at them. She then smiled admiringly and scooped the white ball of fur that lay next to her into her arms. "I must say, Car, you look absolutely bootylicious in that."

Carmen resolutely ignored the comment and turned to the lounging boy. "You can start with telling me what _that_ is." She snarled, pointing to the white sphere which was purring contently in Maddie's arms.

"Stray cat I found last night. Why, Rivera, no bra? You naughty minx!" Dylan grinned as he sat up to peer closer.

Wincing, Maddie reached over and threw Carmen a huge sweatshirt. She knew that unless her best friend was a shapeless blob, her other best friend was going to have some trouble forming thoughts.

Dylan groaned as his eye candy was immediately covered. Shooting a reproachful glance at the traitorous chit, he fixed his gaze on the other occupant of the room. "Fine. Jake and I shot back a couple bottles, I got schwasted, found a stray cat, figured Maddie would want it, cleaned it up, brought it back to her, unfortunately most of the furniture in this room got in my way. There, you happy?" he asked, getting out of bed and stretching his back.

"Not until you're dead." Carmen snarled, spinning on her heel and marching out of the room. "Now excuse me, I have to register yet _another _animal for Suite 301."

His mouth open in disbelief, Dylan immediately rounded on Maddie when the door slammed shut. "How is she immune! How does she do it!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"My chest! My _naked _chest!" Dylan howled, savagely pushing his hair back from his eyes. "Girls stop dead at the sight of this torso! She could care less! What the hell! It's perfect! Isn't it? Do I need to work out _more_? What the fuck do I have to do!"

"You've got a very nice body, dear." Maddie approved soothingly. "It's fine the way it is. Just perfect. Can we go eat now?"

And it really was. He may not have been as tall as Adam but he sure as hell was as ripped as him. People often misinterpreted his flippant tendencies as his actual personality, not realizing the dedication he put towards his passions. There was a reason why Dylan was grateful for his years spent doing ballet. The constant lifting and leaping had developed his muscles in ways that soccer could never have done. And the resulting sense of incredible balance that had been granted to him made him the starting forward for the soccer team his freshman year. His training schedule was the equal of Banks, causing his body to show the full effects of his workout. The female population of Eden Hall was very appreciative.

"So maybe she secretly is affected by it but chooses not to show it?" Dylan continued desperately, collapsing on Maddie's bed and looking up at her pleadingly.

She calmly stroked his hair. "Let's not get too carried away now, shall we?"

* * *

"Flight 671 departing from Detroit to Minneapolis will be delayed three hours due to extreme weather conditions. Boarding will commence upon further notification. We apologize for the delay."

Julie sighed and turned back to her cell phone. "Carmen? Yeah, sorry about that, it was an announcement. Looks like we're going to be here a little longer. It's a mess outside. Over there, too? Fuck. Alright, well, I'll call you again before we board. Give my love to Maddie and Dylan. Okay, love you."

"Everything ok back home?" Connie asked, shifting in her seat. The Ducks were currently scattered throughout the waiting area at Gate 17 of Detroit Metropolitan Airport due to their flight's delay. Most of them, along with the other passengers, were glumly staring out into the wintry, tempestuous weather that surrounded the airport.

"Pretty much. Carmen's parents moved to DC without giving her notice. She's upset about it, I can tell, even if she's not saying much."

"That's horrible!" Connie exclaimed, her eyes growing wide. "They just left without telling her? She's their kid!"

"You know her parents." Julie said quietly, not needing to say more. She had often wondered what dinner time in that household would be like and once, voiced that question aloud. Carmen had then calmly answered that they didn't take meals together. "Hey, Adam."

"Ladies." The tall forward said, dropping his carryon bag next to them. "Talking about Carmen's new problem, I take it? Maddie mentioned it earlier."

"Yeah." Connie murmured before taking a sharper look at him. "What's the matter, Banks? And why aren't you over there with the boys?"

"You trying to get rid of me, Cons?" Adam grinned half-heartedly before he faltered under the other's stare. "Look, it's nothing, alright? I just wanted some quiet. They don't even notice me missing."

* * *

Charlie Conway frowned as he saw his best friend settle down amongst the female members of the hockey team. "Hey, what's Banksie doing all the way over there?"

"Maybe he's talking to the girls." Averman suggested, glancing over. "He likes checking up on them, you know, the whole mother hen routine he does."

"You might be right." The other agreed, getting up. "Come on, let's go see what he's up to."

"And Connie, too?" His red-headed friend asked innocently, pushing his glasses up.

"Yeah, I guess." Charlie replied carelessly, already walking over to the three. "Yo, Banksie baby! What's going on?"

* * *

Adam inwardly flinched as he heard his best friend call out. There had been a reason for his recent seclusion. Originally not a very talkative boy, Adam had become even more withdrawn lately. The less he talked, there was the lesser chance of the dreaded topic of college.

And as he shared a room with Charlie, it was damn hard to avoid him. Thank god Charlie talked enough for both of them.

"Hi, Charlie." Connie said calmly. _Too calmly_, Adam thought, his eyes narrowing as they took in the pseudo-relaxed nonchalance of his friend.

"Connie." Charlie replied, dutifully kissing her on the cheek. He then took a seat next to her and refocused his attentions on Banks. "What's up, buddy? You look worried."

"What? Oh, nah, it's just the weather." Adam muttered absently, as he was too preoccupied with the distance between the couple. _No…it can't be_. _Right?_ He thought wildly, his mind reeling.

Averman gave the wide-eyed center a curious glance and shook his head. Whatever, Banks was always a little off. "Anyway, you girls missed a great party last night."

"Sorry." Julie muttered moodily as she stared out the rain and snow-spattered window. For some reason, she didn't sound sorry at all.

"Yeah, that reminds me. Where were you yesterday?" Charlie suddenly asked, turning to his silent girlfriend.

Connie stiffened slightly, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Adam's eyes. "With Julie." She answered evasively.

"No, no. Before that. Fulton said you weren't with Julie when they saw her on the elevator."

_And it all crashes down_, Connie thought dryly as she shared a resigned glance with Julie and then slowly looked up to meet Charlie's curious gaze. "I was with someone…a scout."

Charlie immediately brightened. "Was it the University of Minnesota? I talked to one of their people and they're making an offer for the whole team! He said he'd be in contact with everyone soon. This is great, Cons!"

Averman knew it wasn't the University of Minnesota. He didn't even need to hear it from her mouth to know that. Just one look at her paling yet resigned face was enough for him to prepare to make a quiet and tactical retreat. He had a feeling it was going to get extremely loud and extremely ugly extremely soon.

"It was Brown."

"And dude, it'll just be like old times! Man, it's going to…wait. What?" Charlie suddenly stopped his enthusiastic speech and stared at his girlfriend. "What did you say?"

"It was Brown. Brown's looking at me." Connie said quietly but clearly, before looking up at him with sad yet determined eyes. "I'm not going to the University of Minnesota, Charlie. There is no way in _Hell_ I'm going to the University of Minnesota. I'm sorry."

"Well…Wisconsin made an offer for us too, you know-"

"No."

It was as if a two ton truck had hit him. Charlie opened and closed his mouth a couple times but it was as if words had failed him. "Cons…but…wait…I-"

"We're not all going to the same college. I'm sorry but we're not. After graduation, the Ducks will only live on in our hearts. All of us want different things and we're all going on different paths-" Connie started desperately before she was cut off by Charlie. It seemed as if he had finally found what he had wanted to say. And judging by his stony face, it looked like everyone in the general vicinity was going to hear it.

"Oh cut the shit, Moreau!" He spat angrily. "Fine! Tell me what you want! Cause it seems to me that you're the only one that seems to want something different!"

"Charlie!" Adam hissed immediately. If there was one thing Adam couldn't stand, it was disrespect to his girls. It didn't seem to register in his mind that all of his "girls" were more than capable of handling disrespect. And Connie Moreau was one who fought fire with fire.

"I can't tell you that, you idiot, because I don't even know myself!" She snarled, looking livid. "I need to be alone, ok? I want to go to college and be able to fend for myself. I want to get out of Minnesota-"

"To what, _Rhode Island_?" Charlie snapped derisively.

"Yes! Yes, Rhode Island! It's different! There! That's what I want! Something different! I want to be by myself and I want to see that I can _make_ it all by myself!"

"Fine! Be by yourself! I take it that includes our relationship, as well?" Charlie yelled, completely ignoring the worried looks that the other Ducks were shooting them and the intrigued stares that other passengers gave. Man, did people love a scene.

Connie snorted. "_Relationship_? Get real, Conway. We haven't had a _relationship_ since the beginning of January. It's now the first week of February. Please, you know very well that the only reason you didn't break it off was because you're scared of change!"

"_Change?_ I'm scared of _change_?" He snapped, his face turning red with fury. "Don't kid yourself, Moreau! The only thing that's changed is you and if that's what represents change, then yeah! I guess I'm scared of change! I'm scared of what you've become!"

"It's called _maturity_! You haven't reached it yet but hopefully you will _one_ of these days!" Connie screamed as tears welled up in her eyes. "Damn it, Conway! You can't stand the idea of change so you hold on to this precious dream that everyone will stay together! I love the Ducks, I never said I didn't! I'll always love this team, it's part of who I am! But it can't be forever! It seems as if everyone else but _you_ accepts that fact!"

"I know that! You're the one that wants to forget about everything! No more Duck pride, huh, Moreau? You know something? What if you don't get _into_ Brown? Huh? Ever think of that?" Charlie spat scornfully.

"Actually," Luis slipped in quietly and quailed under the furious glare that Charlie sent his way. "the fact that Brown sent a scout after her pretty much guarantees her acceptance. The athletics department at the Ivies holds a lot of pull with the Admissions office. And Connie's academic resume is pretty impressive, as well. I'd say, she's pretty much in."

"Oh so you're taking her side too?" Charlie asked angrily. "Anyone else?"

"Leave him alone!" Connie shrieked, stamping her foot in frustration. "It's you, Conway! You're just holding us back!"

"Who?" He demanded. "Who else am I holding back? Besides you!"

Connie clamped her mouth shut. "It's not my place to tell." She replied stonily.

"No. It's fine." Julie spoke up. She stared at a spot on the wall behind Charlie and the rest of the Ducks. "Dartmouth offered me a full ride."

Charlie stared at her in disbelief before he turned to see Ken step forward. "I'm probably not going to play college hockey."

"What? Ken-"

"Sorry, Charlie, but…I just…I can't see myself doing this for another four years."

"I'm not so sure myself, Chuck." Russ suddenly spoke, looking compassionately at the crumbling face of his friend. "Don't get me wrong, I love it, but…I don't know, man. There are things out there besides hockey. And college sports is a huge commitment. I don't know if I'm willing to make that."

Charlie clenched his jaw resolutely. "Anyone else?" he demanded, feeling extremely pugnacious. His eyes landed on Adam, who sat with his head in his hands. A sick feeling came into his stomach as he remembered the secretive and quiet actions of his best friend. "Banks?"

Adam grit his teeth and looked up. He had known that this would all come out into the open but it still didn't prepare him for the look of pleading disbelief in the other's eyes. He nodded slowly.

"Where?" Charlie croaked out.

Adam swallowed and looked back down at the floor. "Harvard." He mumbled so quietly that Charlie strained to hear what he had said.

"What?"

"Harvard."

Charlie nodded. _That fucking preppy traitor_! "Alright. Fine. Whatever. I'm out of here. Do whatever the _fuck_ you guys want. It's over." He snarled, looking straight at Connie before stomping off to a secluded part of the waiting room.

"That went moderately well, I thought." Averman remarked, pushing his glasses up.

"Shut up, Averman." Guy growled, sinking down into a chair.

* * *

It was bleak times, to say the least.

The stars of the hour, the Ducks, were the only ones not celebrating the afterglow of their national victory. All of them affected by the volatile scene in the airport, they had become broody and solitary, traveling in twos or by themselves. The group dynamic was just smashed and everyone felt it.

And of course, the slight problems that the Ducks had developed on the side were not helping matters much, either.

Connie and Charlie had created quite a sensation in the Eden Hall gossip scene with the news of their break up. Both girls and boys secretly rejoiced at the couple's newly opened availability while others – such as Goldberg and Russ – became uncommonly depressed about the disintegration of all things good in the world.

Julie continued to avoid all things related or remotely connected to Portman. She jumped at the slightest noise and tension radiated off her body in waves.

Portman started to realize Julie was avoiding him. He also started to get extremely offended by it.

Ken very much wished death upon Portman's rampant hormones and decided it was time to speak to Julie. He hoped to God that he would survive.

Carmen was like a coiled spring ready to attack. Taking more classes than any of the other Ducks, she was stressed beyond belief and familial matters seemed to keep on surfacing. The bumbling incompetence of Josh Landon also rattled her to no end, as it pained her to watch the poor fool struggle to keep his head above water in the deluge of presidential responsibilities.

But the biggest trouble of them all was Dylan Howard. He was starting to feel restless…and that unsettled the Ducks the most.

* * *

Julie started as her door suddenly shut and spinning around, came face to face with a grim looking Ken. She suddenly got a chill of foreboding as she inadvertently closed her textbook to give him her full attention.

"Ken, wha-"

"This is all very nice and all and I'm sure you have a very logical explanation for your actions but don't you think it's getting to be a little ridiculous?" Ken said flatly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Julie scrunched up her face in confusion. "What?"

"This whole avoiding everyone thing."

She was immediately wary. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh but I think you do." Ken drawled, looking slightly amused at her slightly panicked denial. Her eyes betrayed her. She needed to work on her lying if she wanted it to be believable. "I'm talking about your little adventure a couple weeks ago with Portman."

It was as if he had taken a sledgehammer and hit her across the face with it. The color drained from her face and she took a couple of gasping breaths. "Y-y-you _know_?"

Ken nodded quite calmly. "I was sent to look for Portman…you know, to make sure he wasn't doing anything stupid? Well, I found him alright. Down your throat." He muttered the last part, resisting the urge to snicker. Unfortunately, Julie heard him.

"He fell!" Julie protested. The blood that had only moments before left her face, suddenly rushed back, causing a lightheaded and nauseating sensation.

"On your lips? For ten minutes?"

The sound that escaped her lips was something between a whimper and a groan. "Does anyone else know?"

"No. For now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Julie demanded, starting to pace the floor of her bedroom.

"It means that you need to sort this out with Portman. It means that you need to _tell_ him what happened. Or I will."

"But-but-"

"No buts, Jules." Ken said firmly but not unkindly. "He needs to know. And besides, it's the only way you'll get any answers."

"How long do I have?" She finally whispered, collapsing in her chair and burying her face in her hands.

Ken raised an eyebrow. "Well, technically, you've had almost three weeks. But let's say a week. You'll feel better afterwards, Jules, I promise."

"Yeah, sure." Julie muttered noncommittally. "What if I don't like any of the answers he gives me?"

"Well…you could always become a nun. That way, you'd never have to worry about men."

* * *

Charlie stopped as he approached his locker. Cursing the day he and Banks decided to have lockers next to each other, he turned around to walk away after a split second pause.

"Don't do that, Charlie."

He set his jaw and turned back around to gaze at his friend. "Do what?"

Adam placed another book into his backpack and then slammed the locker shut. "It's not my fault that I have my locker here, you know. If I recall correctly, _you_ paid the original owner ten bucks to trade lockers with me. On the first day of junior year…all before third period."

"Don't you have class to go to?" Charlie growled.

"Charlie." Adam sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I take it you're still mad at me."

There was a brief pause before Charlie stomped over to his locker and all the while grumbling under his breath, jerked it open. Adam could hear words like "prissy" and "preppie" and "bitch" in rapid succession and rolled his eyes upward. "Come on, I know you're angry but try to be reasonable."

Charlie stopped banging things around in his locker long enough to lean over and throw his roommate a withering glare.

"Okay, bad choice of words, maybe." Adam hastily conceded. "Listen, Charlie, don't do this. We've been friends since District 5. We've shared a damn room since freshman year. I was there for the birth of your sister. I _drove_ your mother so she could give birth to your sister. I let it go when you used my toothbrush to brush Bagel's teeth…and then conveniently forgot to tell me about it. I forgave you when you used my term paper to mop up your brownie batter. I even forgave you when your makeshift oven – I still don't know how that got in our room, by the way – blew out all the plugged in appliances in our room…including the laptop where my term paper was saved!"

Charlie bit his lip at that. "That might've been my bad." He muttered apologetically.

Adam rolled his eyes and tried again. "We've been through a lot, man, and I know you're really pissed but don't you think it's just not worth it?" He asked, carefully inserting a pleading note into his question.

There was another pregnant pause before Charlie reluctantly spoke. "I'm not mad at you."

Adam's look of skepticism said more than words.

"I'm not. More irritated…at life."

"What else is new?"

"Shut up, preppie." Charlie grumbled absently. "I mean, I just always assumed that we'd all stay together, you know? It…it just sucks, dude."

"Charlie," His roommate started, looking compassionately at his best friend.

"I'm a little shocked about it all too. Never thought this would happen." Charlie continued, before wrinkling his forehead in consternation. "I should've expected it from you, though. You were always the freak of the group."

"Thanks." Adam remarked dryly.

"But Connie? Now _there's_ someone I'm mad at."

"Charlie."

"No, Banks! She was my best friend! Alright, maybe the whole part about us not really being _together_ was true. But still. She was a bitch! There's no other word for it! She was a bitch!" Charlie said indignantly.

"Boys?"

The two hockey players turned to see Dean Buckley standing behind them, a questioning look in his eyes. "I believe the bell has rung and both of you have class at this moment."

"Yes, sir."

"Just going, sir."

"Good men. You make Eden Hall proud." Dean Buckley beamed in that pompous, endearing way of his and sauntered off down the hallway.

"We'll talk later tonight." Adam muttered as they too walked down the corridor.

"Oh, great. Looking forward to it. I'll bring the ice cream and the sappy movies so we can cry and _bond_." Charlie muttered, looking quite disgusted by the idea.

"And where the hell are you going to get sappy movies?"

Charlie shrugged bad-temperedly. "We're not watching sappy movies, Banks! And besides, I'm sure one of the girls has something. What's that shit called that all the girls weep over…The Letter? The Novel?"

"The Notebook." Adam answered calmly. "And yeah, _our _girls are going to have a copy of The Notebook."

"Well, why wouldn't they?"

"Charlie, Carmen would shoot herself before watching something like that. Connie would be disgusted with the damn premise of the story. Julie would most likely be asleep before half the movie has played. And do you honestly think Maddie would sit still long enough to finish it?"

Charlie blinked. "Banks…our girls are men."

* * *

A week went by and no major breakthroughs had happened concerning Ducks relations.

Maddie contemplated this as she sat idly in her computer science class, twirling her pencil. The Ducks were so complicated sometimes. She ignored the glares she got from the student sitting next to her and looked around the classroom. Almost everyone was slaving away, trying to figure out a coded pattern that she had figured out in the eighth grade. Amateurs.

_This is kid stuff_, she thought scornfully, giving a little toss of her head at the textbook in front of her. She'd been hacking ever since she knew what hacking was. It wasn't a very healthy hobby, she supposed, and could potentially lead to disastrous results. She knew that. But…

Whatevs. Everyone had a vice, didn't they?

She got her kicks from it and besides, Carmen allowed it, saying at least she wasn't putting herself in trouble…physically.

"Miss Kim?"

"Yes, Professor?" She asked innocently, looking up at her teacher.

"Is there a reason why you're not working like everyone else?" Professor Thomas Baker was an old man with white hair that stuck out in all different directions. He had a penchant for wearing tweed suits and bow ties and smoking a pipe on the terrace of the Academics building. He also had the genial and slightly eccentric demeanor of the stereotypical mad scientist. Maddie loved him to bits.

"I'm done, sir."

"Done, you say?" Her teacher asked incredulously. He peered over the edge of his glasses at her computer screen where all the functions appeared in plain view. "H-how?"

"I got mad skills, sir." Maddie answered solemnly.

Professor Baker stared at her intently for a second before nodding his head slowly. "Yes, I believe you do. If you can, Miss Kim, please see me during my office hours. I have something to discuss with you."

"Yes, sir." Maddie nodded, feeling slightly apprehensive.

The kid sitting next to her rolled his eyes and coughed into his hand. "Teacher's pet."

"Hey, why don't you shut up?" A big, burly basketball player growled, turning around to give him a menacing glare.

The kid hastily nodded and once again, buried himself into his work. "Tell me if he gives you any more trouble, princess." The basketball player rumbled, turning to Maddie.

"It's okay, Mike." Maddie smiled sweetly. She then turned her head slightly to look at the now silent student. _Oh, I am _so_ sending you a virus later_, she thought vengefully as she glared at him.

* * *

"Hey."

Connie looked up to see her lab partner smiling down at her. "Hey, Brett."

"Is this seat taken?"

"What? No, no."

Brett let out a gentle chuckle. "So…can I sit here?"

"It's the dining hall. You can sit wherever you want." Connie mumbled, nonetheless shifting her bag to another chair. "So was there something you wanted?"

The charming smile on his handsome face faltered slightly as if he hadn't expected her bluntness. Connie suddenly wondered if all the people in Eden Hall were hot. It was almost unnatural how the student population was so attractive. She snapped back to attention when she realized he was talking. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I asked if you were okay…I mean, I…uh…I heard about the break up." Brett said hesitantly, his dark gold hair glinting in the afternoon sun.

Right. Connie's smile didn't quite reach her eyes as she reached for her cup. "I'm fine. It was a long time coming."

"Oh." Brett brightened suddenly. "Listen, I don't know if this is too soon or anything but um…the other guys on the swim team and I…we're having this get-together. And I'd really like it if you came with me."

Connie stared at him, completely robbed of speech. Great, what was she supposed to tell him? Sorry, but I'm too busy contemplating on how my life sucks? God damn!

"I-"

"Connie! Thank God I found you! I'm in deep shit!" Dylan Howard slammed himself down into the seat across from her and continued to talk. "Alright. This girl fell so I helped her up and apparently she thought I was hot – I don't blame her – but then she started obsessing over me and I thought "Whatever, it'll pass, right?" Wrong! Then her best friend started fighting with her, saying that I was gonna take _her_ to prom! And then this _other_ crazy bitch gets involved and then another one…Cons, I don't even remember who half these girls are! Not only that…I'm not _going _to prom!" Dylan finished desperately.

"Hi, Dylan." Brett murmured dryly.

"Oh. Reynolds. What are you doing here?" Dylan asked, looking artfully confused. "Never mind what you're doing here. What do you think I should do?"

Brett stared at him for a second before giving another dry laugh. "I-I…no clue, sorry. Listen, Connie. I'll talk to you soon, ok?" He said, getting up out of his seat. "Howard. I hope you take care of your little problem."

"Bye." Connie gave him a slightly awkward smile before turning to look at the blond in front of her. "Okay. You need to repeat everything you just said."

Dylan grinned, showing his pearly whites. "Why bother? It got rid of him, didn't it?"

"You mean…that-that was all an…_act_?"

"Well no, the problem itself does exist. But I always get out of the shit I'm in. I can take care of myself, I just figured you might want a way out of the situation with no hurt feelings." Dylan drawled, swiping the apple from her tray. "What did he want, anyway?"

"A date." Connie said, shaking her head.

"With him?"

"No, his dog."

"Hey, easy! I'm on your side, remember? Besides, Maddie's the only one insane enough to have dogs on this campus." Dylan swallowed a bite of his apple. "Wow. A date. All that chlorine must have got to him. Man, that guy sure has class, doesn't he? Picking them up right when they're vulnerable."

"Vulnerable? Me?" Connie laughed, tossing her braid over her shoulder. "It wouldn't have mattered, anyway. After Guy, I don't go for blonds. He just ruined it for me."

Dylan's look of indignation spoke volumes.

"Except for you, of course. I'd totally do you." She said, the corners of her mouth twitching.

He smirked smugly. "Who wouldn't?"

Connie looked at him for a second, smiling at him fondly. "You're a good kid, Dylan."

"I try, ma'am."

"Anyway, I gotta get to class. And so do you. Thank you for the help, dear." She murmured, bending over to give him a kiss on the cheek. And on an impulse born out of sheer mischief, she reached down and tousled his hair.

"Hey! Not the hair! Cons! Not the hair!"

* * *

Carmen Rivera took a deep breath, forcing all the stress and irritation out of her body. And boy, did she have a lot of it. She took another one and resolutely turned the knob. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

Dean Buckley looked over the top of his glasses to peer bemusedly at her. "Oh, Miss Rivera. Yes, please sit down."

"If you don't mind, sir, I'd like to keep this short. I have business to attend to."

"Don't you always." Dean Buckley muttered darkly as he finished signing a document with a flourish. "Alright then. Jennifer called me today."

Carmen's amber eyes immediately narrowed with suspicion. "What the Hell did she want?"

"Now, Carmen, that's no way to speak about your mother." The Dean scolded gently, leaning back in his chair. "She wants you to come home for the long weekend."

"No."

"She already bought your plane tickets."

"She can refund them."

Dean Buckley sighed and steepled his fingers together as he gazed at her. "Carmen, my dear, she would've told you herself if the two of you weren't on such bad terms-"

"You don't say."

"Carmen. It's a big event. The whole neighborhood is involved apparently. You're their only child. They need to keep up appearances, not to mention show off their darling girl. It's a deep-seated need in all parents. You'll only be gone for three days, kind of like a mini-vacation!" Dean Buckley said brightly. After a brief pause where Carmen proceeded to stare at him, he sighed. "And she also mentioned that your father requests your presence."

Carmen continued to stare at him impassively, giving no hint of any kind of emotion she was feeling. "When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, right after your last class."

* * *

"Just how good are you with computers?"

"I get by." Maddie answered evasively, wondering just what kind of information her professor was looking for.

Unfortunately, Professor Baker was not interested in evasion tactics. Irritably waving his hands, he stared at her intently. "Oh, stop that! No one cares about your illegal antics – and trust me, I bet you have a whole slew of them under your belt – I just want to know how good you are."

_Oh what the hell, I suck at lying anyway_, Maddie thought resignedly. "Extremely good, sir."

"I thought so." Her teacher nodded, pulling out his pipe with much satisfaction. "What about electronics? How are you with circuitry, building, stuff like that?"

"I can usually whip something up. It's usually pretty primitive but it gets the job done."

Her professor nodded again, looking as if he had just struck gold. "Have you heard of the Eden Hall Robotics Team?"

"Yes, sir."

"How would you like to join them?"

"Excuse me?" Maddie asked. She would have raised an eyebrow to symbolize her confusion but as she never could get the hang of it, she would've just looked ridiculous. So she settled for the old standby of cocking her head to the side.

"The Robotics Team. Right now, it consists of nine members. It's very select. We actually recruit potentials just like the athletes do. We compete in national competitions. Brought home three titles in the last five years. The children are preparing for a statewide competition in April. They're all brilliant kids, don't get me wrong…but I think you're just what we need. I just don't understand how they could've missed you down at the department. Your records are exemplary." He murmured, rifling through a sheaf of papers. "Anyway, what do you say?"

"I don't know. I have rehearsal-"

"It wouldn't interfere with your dancing, Madison. Besides, what better way to utilize your talents? What do you do with all that scientific ability anyway?"

"A bit of this, a bit of that." She once again answered evasively.

"Oh?" Professor Baker raised an eyebrow. Maddie almost growled at the injustice of it all. How come everyone could do it, except her?

"I…um…work for someone. Kind of." Well, it was kind of true. Whenever Carmen needed something hacked, she had to be ready to go.

"Ah." Baker nodded. "Well, just think about it. Could you have an answer for me by Tuesday?"

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Connie stared out at the wintry night. She was a mess. That fight with Charlie had really done it. Her mind was a jumble of conflicting emotions and she felt like she could break down at any moment. Not to mention, Eden Hall's male population was like vultures.

Apparently, word had spread that she and Charlie had been drifting apart for awhile and this breakup just finalized things. She'd been asked out four times already. How much more callous could people get?

What she needed was a cup of coffee. But she knew she could never go back to sleep after drinking that so she resisted. And sat on her window seat and looked out the window. Yes, she led a boring life.

"Connie?"

She turned to see Julie coming out of her bedroom. "Hey. What's up?"

"I could ask you the same question. It's two in the morning." Julie murmured as she dragged a footstool over to the window ledge.

"Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Same reason. It's weird not having Carmen in the same room. I wonder how she's doing in DC." Julie paused and stared up at her best friend. "Nice nose ring, by the way. Don't think I ever mentioned that."

The corner of Connie's lip curved up. "Thanks. I don't think half the team's noticed. Charlie did, though. He didn't like it."

"How is that?" Julie asked softly. "How are you two?"

"Not speaking to each other." Connie replied shortly, willing herself not to cry. "You know something, Jules? I miss him. Not as a boyfriend. But just as a friend. I grew up with him and now…now he won't even look at me."

"Hey…" The blonde murmured comfortingly. "You guys will get past this. You're too connected not to. Come on. Both of you need some time to cool off."

"I guess." Connie sighed, taking a deep breath. "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You want to tell me why you've been so jumpy?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Julie-"

"Listen, Connie. I really don't want to talk about it. Hell, I don't even want to _think_ about it. Please."

"If it's that bad, maybe you _should_ tell me."

Julie just sunk her head into her hands so Connie tried another approach.

"Or I could mention it to Dylan and you know how curious he gets about stuff like this. Has a finger in every little scene on campus. The dear can be quite resourceful in things like these."

The goalie's head shot up as she looked at Connie in shock. "You wouldn't!"

"Try me."

"That's blackmail!"

"Of course it is. I went out with Charlie for over a year, I'm bound to pick up some of his bad habits. Now start spilling."

_Oh fuck me_, Julie thought miserably. She once again buried her face in her hands. "Ihukuhwipoman."

"What?"

"Jesus."

"Well, that's intelligible. Try that with the first thing you said."

"I hooked up with Portman."

Connie's eyes grew wide. "Oh, dear Lord."

* * *

Carmen wasn't sure what she had done in her past life to deserve this.

But it must have been something awful.

She stared at her reflection in her mirror and absently adjusted her hair. The obnoxiously large house that her parents had moved into was currently teeming with dignified guests. She suddenly entertained the thought of sneaking out her window and going for a ride. Wouldn't that infuriate her mother to no ends?

"Oh, you do look stunning, dear." Carmen turned to see Beatrice, the maid, beaming at her. It was odd to have this fifty-something year old woman treating her lovingly, as if she was her own daughter. Extremely disconcerting. Carmen didn't know how to handle her.

"If you say so." She answered indifferently, staring at her reflection. The strapless cocktail dress was slightly off in measurement but that was to be expected from her mother. The dusky blue brocade contrasted against her golden skin perfectly and her hair was swept up into an elegant chignon at the back of her head. Carmen blessed the day Maddie had taught her how to effortlessly create the perfect bun. "I would have preferred black."

"Nonsense. Your mother was right in picking this out for you. Makes you look young and fresh." Beatrice cooed, as she flitted around Carmen's suite. "Now come on, mustn't keep the guests waiting. I bet there's a whole flock of gentlemen waiting to meet you."

This time, Carmen had a hard time keeping her lip from curling as she was ushered down the hallway…right into the arms of her clueless father. "Hi." She muttered ungraciously.

"Oh, hello." Her father blinked, peering over the edge of his wire-rimmed glasses. "You look pretty."

Carmen just grunted, looking over the railing at the mass of people. She avoided events such as these like the plague. "When is this over?"

Her father sighed. "Carmen, it's just begun. Please be good."

_Be good?_ Carmen thought incredulously. What was she, five? "If you just isolate me from everyone else, there won't be any need for worry."

"Now, niña-" Her father started pleadingly in his slightly accented voice. This man used to be a college professor of international economics and he got bitched around by his daughter and wife. Carmen just barely kept from outright sneering. "I want to go back. Let's make a deal. There's an 11:24 plane to Minneapolis tomorrow morning. I behave tonight…and I get to be on that plane."

"Absolutely not." Carmen turned to see her mother, resplendent in shimmering copper taffeta, staring at her coldly. "You will behave and you will stay until your original flight leaves."

"What else is there for me to do?" Carmen ground out in fury. "You wanted me here for this damn function and I came. What _else _is there?"

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me, young lady. Or the consequences will be great."

"And what will those be?"

Jennifer Host Rivera smiled icily. "Perhaps a transfer to Phillips Exeter for your senior year. Actually, I'm not sure. Boarding school has robbed you of your manners so maybe I want to enroll you closer to home…Georgetown Visitation, perhaps? A wonderful all girls school."

Carmen stared at her in shock. Never before had she actually _hated _her mother until now. Now all she could do was stare at her in hopeless fury, willing the rushing sound in her ears to go away. She could barely hear her father gently rebuke her mother and the words just bubbled out. "You unholy bitch."

"_Language_, Carmen." Her mother said coolly. "Oh, Mark! Helen! How are you enjoying the party?"

A young, attractive couple walked up to them, smiling generously. "It's great, Jen. Thank you." Helen murmured softly. "Really outdid yourself this time." Mark added, his eyes twinkling.

"Oh, thank you." Jen laughed airily, before gesturing to her husband and her daughter. "Joe, stop looking lost and come over here. He's always off in his little world. And this is our daughter, Carmen. Carmen, these are our next door neighbors. Mark and Helen Storm."

It just went to show how much practice she had at it. Effortlessly masking her anger, she slipped on a smile and held out a hand to the couple. "Pleased to meet you."

"Oh, she's absolutely beautiful." Helen smiled at her, the light glinting off her dark red hair. "That she is." Mark agreed, shaking her hand. Carmen could tell that this was a genuine couple and that Helen lived her entire life with love and passion. Mark obviously doted on her and she felt her throat constrict suddenly in pain.

"Oh Mark, there's someone I want you to meet. Let's leave Helen and Carmen to get acquainted and find him. Come on, Joe." Her mother walked off in a flurry of taffeta. Mark quickly kissed his wife and winked cheekily at Carmen before following her mother. "So…Mrs. Storm-"

"Helen, please."

"Helen…um..." Carmen looked around discreetly, hoping to find a topic. She spotted a trio of toddlers and quickly turned back to the redhead. "Do you have any children?"

Helen's face fell. "No, I'm afraid not. I-I can't have children."

_Oh shit_, Carmen thought despairingly. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't know."

"It's fine, dear." Helen laughed. "Mark and I are probably going to adopt in a year or two. We've talked about it and there're so many needy children out there. Who knows? Maybe you can baby-sit for us one day!"

The half-hysterical sound that escaped Carmen's throat was on the borderline of deranged. "Me…baby-sit. Oh that's…that's just…wonderful. Great. Excuse me, what is that?" She hurriedly asked a waiter who was walking by.

"Brandy, ma'am."

"Two, please. In the same glass."

* * *

"Do we have all the parts?"

Fulton rolled out from underneath the car. "Yeah, they're all in the locker."

"Yo, Portman!" Portman turned to see his friend, Jones, walk towards him. "Hey man."

"Damn, what the hell are you guys doing?" Jones whistled, looking at the car. Their shop teacher had almost thrown a fit when Portman and Fulton had wheeled the beat up vehicle into the garage. Apparently the two boys had interpreted the term "choose your own final project" a little too loosely.

"This baby's gonna be beautiful." Fulton called out from underneath the car. "1967 Camaro. We saved it from the junkyard. Only paid seventy bucks for it. We're gonna redo it from hood to trunk."

Jones pursed his lips, looking impressed. "That's impressive but where are you gonna get the cash? It'll probably get pretty expensive."

Portman continued to gaze reverently at the old piece of metal. "It's a present for Connie. Her birthday's coming up. All the Ducks are chipping in plus some. We'll have enough."

"That's one lucky girl right there." The football player grinned. "Hey, speaking of girls…how are you and that other chick?"

"What?" Portman asked distractedly. "What chick?"

"The one you were hooking up with at my party a couple weeks ago."

"Oh Kelly? She's around. Literally."

"Nah, man. The blonde. The goalie."

Portman suddenly stilled his movements and turned to look at Jones. Fulton, too, had wheeled out from underneath the car to stare at the football player. "What about Julie?"

"Julie! That's the one. How are you and her?"

"What are you talking about, Jones? We didn't hook up." Portman said evenly as his heart started to race.

Jones frowned. "Yeah, you did. I walked by you two up against the wall. You guys were like sucking the life force out of each other. Wait…do you not remember? How drunk were you?"

"I blacked out." Portman growled, suddenly feeling furious. Her avoidance of him finally made sense. That lying bitch! "And Julie conveniently forgot to tell me that happened."

Fulton stared at him. "You hooked up with Jules? That's sick, man! She's like my sister!"

* * *

"Sorry. I'm a lesbian."

"Excuse me, I have diarrhea."

"I think sodomy's great."

"I fuck goats."

"Fuck off."

"No speak English."

"I'm missing essential female organs."

These were the various excuses that Carmen had given to the adolescent boys that cluttered her home in the past few hours. Her temper was starting to wear thin and the next prick who came near her was going to get the full brunt of her anger. Inventing disgusting excuses be damned.

"Hey, you must be the Rivera girl." She set her jaw and turned to see a tall, strapping boy smirking at her. Her brain quickly analyzed him without even meaning to. A little over 6 feet, broad shoulders, dark hair, brown eyes, suit from Brooks Brothers, typically good looking, huge ego. She'd almost prefer Howard to this guy. Almost. "Silas Banning. Senior at Gonzaga. It's the prep school across from the Capitol."

Carmen gave a dismissive grunt before turning away. Unfortunately, the much bigger boy blocked her way. "You wouldn't believe the stuff my friends are saying about you. Apparently, you don't speak English, you're into sodomy, bestiality, girls and are essentially a man. Not to mention, you seem to have had a sudden case of diarrhea…three times."

"My bowels are not what they used to be." She said coldly, trying to move around him. He once again blocked her. "_Excuse_ me."

"Oh?" Silas smiled, catching the eye and rude gestures of some of his friends. Boys will be boys. "Where're you off to in such a rush?"

"Your mother's waiting for me." Her amber eyes started to crackle dangerously. Unfortunately the Washington, D.C. crowd had no idea of the warning signs.

"I'm sure she is. Why don't you come with me? I'll introduce you to my friends and we can all distract you from dallying with my mom. But it'll only work if you tell me your name first."

Carmen had had enough. She was done with this lot. "I don't think your plan works for me. As you can probably tell, I want you dead. But you're right. Death isn't any fun. You wouldn't be able to enjoy any of the chaos I could wreak on your life. Such as messing with your school records, medical records…hell, even government files. You see, I have a very good hacker in my circle of friends. Very, very good. So unless you want to keep on annoying me, get out of my way."

"Dude, that girl freaks the shit out of me." One of Silas' friends declared as they watched the blonde stalk up the staircase. "Hot…but insane."

"I think I'm in love." Silas murmured speculatively, a little smile playing at his lips.

* * *

Carmen had just closed the door to her room when there was a knock. "Get lost." She barked, fully intending on taking a bath.

The door nonetheless opened, however, and her father stepped in. "Your mother's looking for you."

"I'm not feeling too well." She almost snarled, wishing everyone would just leave her alone.

"Ah." Her father nodded sympathetically, his fingers handling a glass of scotch absently. "I'll tell her you retired for the night. You do look a bit pale."

She didn't say anything as she bent to remove her heels. "How is school? And that girl, Mary, was it?"

"Maddie. She's fine. School's fine."

Her father nodded, taking a sip of his scotch. "And what about that boy?"

"What boy?" Carmen asked distractedly.

"The blond one. The one who likes you. Charming boy, I rather thought. Your mother was enamored."

"How do you know about him?"

"He introduced himself to us last time we were up there. I'd keep an eye on him if I were you. His last words to us were 'I fully intend on marrying your daughter.' I think he was serious too."

Carmen bit her lip to keep from screaming. Noticing that, her father sighed. "I changed your flight. To the one you mentioned earlier."

She looked up at him in disbelief. "What?"

"I changed your flight. And don't worry about transferring. I wouldn't dream of moving you." Her father murmured, looking extremely weary and almost…defeated. "Your mother really does love you. You two are just so similar that…anyway, someone will drive you to the airport. I would do it myself but I have a mee-"

"It's fine." The golden haired girl interrupted, not wanting to hear any more excuses. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Her father nodded solemnly. "Well…good night, niña. Have a safe trip."

"Bye." Carmen said softly, watching as he gave her a slightly sad smile and walked out of her room. Oddly enough, when the door clicked shut, it was as if he was walking out of her life forever. And that was what prompted Carmen to say the words she hadn't uttered for over ten years.

"Thank you, Daddy."

* * *

"Give me the specifics of the XYZ affair."

Maddie scrunched up her nose, trying to figure out the answer. God, she hated history. "Um…when France tried to take our shit?"

Dylan burst out laughing from his perch on the couch. The corners of Connie's mouth twitched slightly before she shook her head. "Maddie! Come on. You can do this."

Unfortunately, Portman burst in at that moment. "Where's Jules?"

"Hi to you too." Dylan drawled, flipping over on the couch so that the blood rushed to his head. "What's the dealio?"

"I need to talk to her! Where is she?" Portman spat, looking furious. And a furious Portman was never a good sign.

Connie immediately became wary. "She's in the shower. Why, what's wrong?"

Portman clenched his hands. "It's sort of…private. How long do you think she'll take?"

"No fuckin' way!" Maddie suddenly exclaimed, her eyes growing wide at her laptop. "Josh Landon and Emily Parker are in a relationship!"

Portman's problem was immediately ignored as Dylan tumbled off the couch and zeroed in on Maddie. "Are you sure? What are your sources?"

"It's on Facebook. Facebook is like law." Maddie replied, still staring at her screen.

Connie rolled her eyes as she saw Dylan nod his agreement and turned back to the flustered enforcer. "She'll be out in a bit. Give her an hour or so. Anyway, I got to run."

"Hey, where're you going?" Maddie protested, waggling her history notes at her. "I thought you were going to help me study!"

"And you're doing such a fine job right now." Connie said sarcastically, indicating the open laptop. "I'll be back in half an hour. Have a meeting, just review until I'm back. Or better yet, get Dylan to quiz you." She threw over her shoulder before running out.

Dylan snorted, diving back onto the couch. "Right. Me…tutor. That's a riot."

Portman suddenly blinked. Dylan. He could help him. The kid was a master at stalking people! "Dylan!"

"Christ! Keep your panties on, I'm right here!" The blond griped, jumping at the cry. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to Julie and I need to make sure she listens to what I have to say. She's developed this little problem of running away every time I come near her."

"Oh. That's strange. Well, maybe she just doesn't like your cologne."

Portman cracked his knuckles.

"Ah. Be easy, that kind of problem is easily solved."

* * *

As the scalding water poured down over her body, Julie blissfully closed her eyes and basked in the silence. She sighed contently and reached for the shampoo when she heard something that she should definitely not have heard. Listening closer, she heard the door close and the clink of a toilet seat.

Rolling her eyes, she cursed the incorrigible blond. "For the last time, Dylan, I don't care if you have to take a leak! Not when I'm in the shower!"

There was no answer as she impatiently waited for him to leave. Not even his usual smart ass comment. Then…

"Aaargh! Dylan! Why do you always have to do that! It's so immature!" Julie screeched as the toilet flushed, making the hot water suddenly run ice cold. She pushed her wet hair back from her face and poked her head out from the shower curtain. "We are going to have a very long ta…oh dear God."

Portman smiled cheerily at her as he sat quite comfortably on the closed toilet seat, legs spread out before him. "Hey, Jules. I quite agree. We should have a very long talk."

It was almost amusing to watch the color drain from Julie's face. In fact, if he wasn't so angry at her, he would've laughed out loud. She, on the hand, just let out a strangled squeak and dove back behind the shower curtain. "Now come on, Jules. There's nowhere else to go."

"Get out!"

"You know, I just heard something interesting a couple hours ago." Portman continued, as if he hadn't even heard her. "I was talking with my friend, Jones, and he mentioned that I was making out with you at that last party. Now why would he say that?"

There was an audible intake of breath and a slight thud from behind the curtain. Portman frowned and stood up. "Jules? You okay?"

"I'm fine! Don't move! Just-just stay right there!"

Reassured that Julie was still alive, the concern that had invaded his mind moments before was replaced with fury. He bit out words with a cold detachment that he never even knew he was capable of. "Why'd you lie to me, Julie? Did you think I wouldn't find out? What the fuck were you thinking? Wait, _were _you even thinking?"

A hand shakily appeared to grab at a nearby towel. Wrapping it around herself, Julie pushed back the curtain to stare at him. "Did Ken tell you? That bastard!"

"No, Jones did. Wait, _Ken_ knew? And he didn't tell me?"

"I asked him not to."

"I'm going to kill that shrimpy bitch!"

"You know, if anyone should be angry, it should be me."

"You?" Portman choked, his eyes almost bugging out of his head.

"Yes, me!" Julie snapped, her own eyes going flinty. "I didn't tell you because I wanted to put it behind me. Do you even realize what kind of shit you were saying that night?"

"Well, enlighten me! Or are you going to _lie_ again?"

"I didn't lie!"

"Are you fuckin' kidding me? Well, what did you do then? Cause you sure as hell didn't tell me the truth!"

"Oh, like you did?"

Portman stood up, his eyes flashing. Julie didn't even flinch as he towered over her 5' 6" frame. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Julie crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you even know what you said?"

"No!" Portman howled, raising his arms. "That's why I _asked _you if I did anything stupid! And you replied 'No more than usual'!"

"You asked me why I went out with Banks. Then you told me that you looked at me as a girl." Her blue eyes suddenly went watery as she struggled to keep her voice steady. "Then y-you said that you t-thought I w-was b-b-beautiful. A-and you kissed me. So tell me, Portman. Was I right in assuming that this was your drunk self trying to get laid?"

He stared at her, at a loss of what to say. "I said that?"

"_Yes_."

"_Fuck!_" Portman suddenly yelled, spinning around to punch the wall. "_Fuck_!"

"What's the matter, Portman? Disgusted by the idea of making out with me now that you're sober?"

"Shut up!" The burly enforcer snarled, turning to look at her. "Don't talk about stuff you don't understand!"

"And just what don't I understand?" She demanded, tears streaming down her face. "Because right now I don't understand a lot of things!"

"And you're not supposed to!" He yelled back at her. "Hell, I don't even understand some of this shit! What gives you the right to understand?"

"What shit!"

"You! Everything in my head involving you!"

Julie froze and stared at him. "Portman, you're not making any sense."

"That night wasn't supposed to happen. Ever." He replied raggedly.

Just then, the door opened. Maddie stared at the dripping wet, towel-clad Julie and heaving Portman with big eyes. "Oh. Right. Awkward. Bye."

"I'll talk to you later." Portman muttered, following the other girl's hasty exit.

* * *

With a gasp, Carmen sat up straight in bed, her chest heaving. Her whole body in a cold sweat, she pushed back her damp hair from her forehead and squinted at the time. Not even three in the morning. She took a deep breath, forcing her body to calm down.

A slight rustle on the other side of the room convinced her that Julie was still asleep. That was a relief.

She'd been having nightmares ever since she got back from "home". She didn't really know what they were about as she could never really remember them. She just knew that they were awful dreams, ones that made her wake up in cold sweats. And apparently ones that made her scream as well. Or so Julie said.

A week ago, the twenty fourth of February to be exact, Julie had woken her up. She had been screaming and tossing in her sleep. She hadn't screamed since but still woke up, without fail, every night in a cold sweat. And even with her minimal sleeping habits, exhaustion was getting to her.

The blonde cursed silently. What was going on with her? Since when did she start having _nightmares_? She was someone who _caused _them! Nightmares. It sounded pussy just thinking about it. Maybe it was hormones. Or the stress that permeated the third floor. God only knew who was mad at who now.

Carmen sighed and quietly got out of bed. She tiptoed out to their sitting room and grabbed her mug. Filling it with some hot water, she took a sip, feeling it warm her insides. _I need air_, she thought, padding over to the window.

Eden Hall really was a gorgeous place. That much she agreed with as she let the cold night air wash over her feverish body. It was a storybook setting with a picturesque little town next to it. The church, the drugstore…yes, there it was. The barber shop…which had a new statue in front of it. Carmen frowned. That had got to be the ugliest, tackiest thing she had ever seen.

She took another sip as her eyes continued to roam the nearby town. The fact that she had once again slept with her contacts in did not escape her. Her horrible eyesight was her most annoying handicap and she knew she wore her contacts for far too long. She didn't even want to think of all the retinal scarring she was creating.

Carmen moved to close the window when something caught her eye. She leaned out the window, ignoring the sudden blast of chilly air that assaulted her torso. That flickering thing…by the orphanage. A small, rather rundown orphanage. Most of the city funding went to the larger, apparently more efficient one across town.

She squinted before realizing what the tiny dot of yellow was. There must have been a fire in the garage. But the garage connected with the orphanage…and…Carmen's eyes went wide in horror as she recalled the student government meeting the day before.

-_Flashback-_

_Josh Landon continued to talk while pacing around the boardroom. "We've been trying to regain some of the support we lost…due to the Wilson scandal." Here he gave a hard look in the direction of Carmen. She pretended not to have heard. Josh rolled his eyes before re-addressing the ten or so other members. "Anyway, we've been in contact with the town, trying to organize some publicity. Get our caring-for-the-community side out there." _

"_Politics. You gotta love it." Dylan drawled, stretching out in his seat. _

_Josh ignored him and continued on. "Oh and Dean Buckley demanded that we find out who has been pulling the fire alarms. The fire department is not happy about it. And since you're so good at ferreting out mysteries, I'll leave the task of finding out who set the last one to you, Howard." _

"_Oh come on!" Dylan protested. "It's not like the fire department doesn't need the exercise! Talk to their chief, negotiate some kind of failsafe plan!" _

_Josh closed his agenda. "I would but the Chief is busy. Apparently the orphanage's fire alarms are defective – have been for a couple years, actually – and they're trying to install new ones but there are complications. The orphanage doesn't have any form of detectors and the whole firehouse is in a frenzy, trying to figure out what to do." _

_A girl gasped. "That's terrible!" _

_The president shrugged. "Yes, well. No incidents have happened for three years now. I'm sure nothing's going to happen in the next few days or so." _

_-End Flashback-_

The orphanage. They had no detectors. They were sitting ducks for the fire that would spread through the garage then make its way to the main building. It only took a moment for Carmen to react.

"_**Up! Now! Get up! Get up**_"

* * *

Adam bolted up at the first scream and tumbled out of his sheets in his haste to make it to the girls' suite. It just went to show how perfectly capable his body had become to disasters thanks to living with Charlie.

As he hurtled through the door, he barely noticed the lights going on in the other suites. In his panic, he didn't even bother to open the door to the girls' suite. He just barged through it, resulting in its crashing to the floor, pulled clean off its antique hinges. Adam tended to get quite primitively masculine when he lost all form of self control.

"Christ, Banks! Stop destroying school property!" He vaguely heard Ken Wu scold behind him.

"Banks! Get your car!" Carmen barked, as she pulled her jacket on and searched for her own car keys. "Quickly! And where the fuck is Howard!"

"Right here, what's going on?" Dylan rushed in behind Adam, his grey eyes alert and holding no signs of the teasing humor usually apparent in them.

"There's a fire. Orphanage." Carmen muttered tersely to him, throwing a coat to an alarmed looking Maddie who had rushed out of her bedroom. "It's in the garage. We have minutes before it spreads!"

Fulton frowned. "But won't the fire department answer the call?"

"No. There aren't any functioning detectors at the orphanage. They were going to be installed later on today. Everyone who has cars, move it!" Dylan snapped, already moving towards the door. "Let's go! Grab a jacket and move!"

"All of us? We're not going to fit!" Goldberg protested over his shoulder as he ran to get shoes.

Dwayne appeared in the hallway, zipping up his jacket. "Y'all go on ahead without me! I got a ride!" And with that, the cowboy disappeared down the hallway, his hands whipping out a cell phone.

"Howard! Call the fire department and Josh Landon! Then get all the help you can find!" Carmen yelled, already racing down the hallway.

Dylan was two steps ahead of her. "Jake? You live in the same dorm as Josh Landon, right? Get him and get down to the orphanage as fast as you can. It's on fire! Move, man! I need you!"

* * *

The Ducks made it to the orphanage in two minutes and thirty six seconds. But they were too late. The flames had already begun to engulf the building and the screams of children could still be heard over the roar.

The head of the orphanage, Bethany Finch tried to comfort the wails of a small group of children, tears streaming down her face at the thought of her other children still in there. She thanked God when she saw a coughing group make it out under the guidance of one of the older boys.

"Mrs. Finch?"

The rather heavyset woman turned to look helplessly at a golden haired girl in a black jacket and the dozen or so teenagers that were getting out from various cars behind her. "Who are you?"

"We're here to help, ma'am. How many are still inside?" A handsome boy with steel grey eyes came up behind the blonde girl. His eyes immediately surveyed the building, as if he was cataloguing any escape routes that could happen.

"I don't know! At least twenty! If not more!" The woman gasped, as some of the smaller ones ran to her.

"Can you do it?" She heard the blonde girl ask the boy that was standing next to her.

"We sure as hell are gonna try." And with that, the boy ran inside.

"Let's go, boys. It's time to earn our keep." Mrs. Finch turned to see another tall, curly haired boy mutter grimly before following the blond into the burning building.

"Mrs. Finch! Where are the documents? The important ones…permits, child records…stuff like that? The absolutely necessary ones!" The beautiful blonde asked, the fire making her eyes light up like gold nuggets.

"In a safe box…in my personal office! In the back of the closet."

The girl nodded determinedly before racing into the building without a second thought.

"They're all on our computer, though!" The woman called out after her to no avail before she was distracted by a little girl. "Yes, dear?"

"Mama Finch? Who are those people?"

"Deliverance, sweetheart. They're God's answers." She murmured, as she hurriedly beckoned another coughing and soot-ridden group towards her.

* * *

After seeing Carmen dart into the orphanage, Maddie made to follow before she was forcibly stopped by a large hand.

"Don't you even _think_ about it…or I will take you over my knee and spank you right now and right here!" Adam threatened, looking more stressed than he had ever looked.

Maddie crossed her arms and glared at him. "Connie and Fulton just went in. Were you planning on doing something about that or should I?"

"What?" Adam spun around to catch a glimpse of Connie's long brown hair disappearing. "Fuck!" He cursed as he too, ran inside.

Hearing the thud of paws, the Asian girl turned to see Willy pounding down the path towards her. As if he seemed to know exactly what needed to be done, he completely bypassed her and continued into the building. Well, that settled it. She turned to the head of the orphanage. "Did you say that all the vital information was on the computer?"

The woman looked up and nodded. "It's all on our hard drive."

"Where?"

"The main office. Third door on the right."

"Thank you!" Maddie chirped, before she scampered inside, hot on the trail of her loyal dog.

Silly Carmen. Why drag a heavy box around when you could just take a tiny little chip?

* * *

Goldberg grit his teeth as the fire department kept on ringing. Finally, he snapped his phone shut in frustration. He'd been trying to call the firehouse ever since his friends had went in and yet no one was answering. What the hell kind of establishment was this? People's _lives_ were at stake!

He looked at the next name on the list Dylan had hastily made of people to inform when he heard an odd noise. It sounded like…_hooves_.

Goldberg whipped his head around to see Dwayne thunder down the driveway, seated atop a large roan, followed closely by his girlfriend on a magnificent white stallion. He felt his mouth drop open at the sheer Twilight Zone-aura of the night and just stared as Dwayne reared up to a stop.

"Howdy. Is there anything for me and Allie to do?" The cowboy asked immediately.

Goldberg blinked. Right. Fire. Kids. Death. "Yeah, go to the fire department and figure out why they're not picking up their phones!"

"Their phone lines might be out. That storm last night knocked out a couple of poles in that neighborhood." Allie spoke up, jerking angrily on her restless stallion's reins. "We'll be back soon. Dwayne, you go to the firehouse and get them. Just warning you, there probably won't be a lot of them. Edenville isn't a very dangerous place."

"What about you?"

"The fire chief is an old friend of Daddy's. I'm going to go give him a wakeup call."

Watching as the two galloped off the way they had come, Goldberg was about to call Dean Buckley – how Dylan had his personal number, he had no idea – when a black Escalade followed by an electric blue Porsche roared down the driveway. It just went to show how filthy rich most of the Eden Hall population was.

A tousled looking Josh Landon leaped out of the Porsche and stared at the burning building in horror. "Where's Rivera?"

"Inside." Goldberg informed him, his eyes narrowing as Jake Riley stepped out of the Escalade.

"What!" Josh spun around to stare at Goldberg. "She's _inside_? Why?"

"Most of them are." The goalie answered, punching in a new number on his phone. "Some of the kids are still in there and the fire department is MIA."

"Most of them? Where's Dylan? And Maddie?" Jake Riley suddenly spoke up, his eyes growing flinty as he saw a disheveled Connie and an equally disheveled orphan burst out through the entry way. They were followed by Maddie's monstrosity of a dog pulling a couple more brats along with him.

"Dylan was the first one in." Then Goldberg frowned. "And Maddie…"

Just then, everyone's attention was directed to the second floor window where a child was hanging out, screaming for help. The lawn became a frenzy as Mrs. Finch let out an anguished wail and darted forward.

"Stay back!" A soot covered Portman yelled, running out of the building with a child in each arm. A coughing Adam followed him, herding a couple more and with a sobbing little girl latched onto his neck.

"Ducks." Goldberg heard Jake Riley mutter derisively before retrieving a pair of rubber gloves from his glove compartment. And with utter disbelief, he saw the dark haired teen start to effortlessly climb the rough hewn brick wall. "Will you shut up, you brat? I'm coming!" The ill-tempered boy yelled as he continued his ascent.

* * *

Carmen coughed as she grabbed the box out of the closet. The smoke was beginning to overwhelm her and she knew the flames were starting to take over the whole building. She covered her mouth with her arm as she left the office.

"Rivera, go!" Carmen turned to see Howard hurtle down the staircase, pushing a couple children in front of him and pulling a teenage boy in one arm and a slightly younger girl in the other. "Everyone needs to get out! The whole place is burning! You four, run for the exit!" He ordered harshly, pushing them in the direction.

"Are they all out?" She demanded obstinately. "I'm not leaving til they're all out."

Dylan stared at her, his mouth a grim line in his sooty face. "I'll check one more time. Now will you go!"

Carmen nodded at him and started to run down the hallway when she heard a cry coming from down the neighboring hall. With a curse and a backwards look towards Howard, she sprinted down, away from the exit, when she saw a little boy, no more than eight, huddled into a corner of the hallway. He looked up with terrified eyes as she approached and scrambled to his feet.

"Come on!" She yelled before a burning rafter suddenly fell behind her, barricading them inside the room. Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she instinctively grabbed the little boy and threw the metal box out the closed window. Thank God they were on the first floor. "Close your eyes." She ordered, before jumping out the broken window, wincing as she felt the glass shards pierce her skin.

* * *

Dylan let out an oath as the staircase suddenly burst into flames. This orphanage was like gasoline and a match. Trying not to panic, he raced down the empty dormitories when he heard a sob. "Where are you?" He yelled, zeroing in on the sound.

"Over here!" A thin voice cried back. _Oh that helps_, Dylan thought sourly, nonetheless seeing a shape on behind one of the beds. "I'm stuck!"

The little girl valiantly tried to push the heavy iron bed as she was literally pinned against the wall. In the madness that the fire had created, the bed must have been shoved against her. His muscles straining, Dylan pulled the heavy bed out with a grunt. Reaching over, he picked her up and darted out the door only to come back inside as the flames were making their way up the staircase.

"Are we going to die?" The little girl sobbed, clutching the collar of his shirt.

"Of course not." He snapped, not in the mood to deal with hysterics. "You're too young to die and I'm too good looking. Now whatever you do, don't let go of me, understand?"

The little girl nodded, her strawberry blonde curls bobbing up and down. "Good girl." Dylan said approvingly as he jerked open the window and looked outside. His ears immediately distinguished Connie's scream of horror as she saw him hang out the window but his eyes couldn't find that familiar flash of deep golden hair. Where the hell was Carmen? Hadn't he said _precisely_ to leave?

Just then he heard the crashing of a window and Rivera's small form tumble out. It was as if a load had been lifted from his shoulders as he saw Luis and Ken rush forward to help her and the little boy she had in her arms. A new scream brought his mind back to the matters at hand.

Turning he saw the flames licking the edges of the doorway and made up his mind. Ripping a pillowcase apart, he swathed his hands with it. "Alright, no letting go, got it? We're going to climb out the window. Close your eyes if you're scared."

The little girl nodded miserably as her grip on his jacket tightened and her eyes scrunched shut. Dylan stepped out the window and reached for the rainspout. And with a deep breath, he wrapped his cloth covered hands around it and slid down.

* * *

"Come here." Jake growled, as the chubby boy awkwardly climbed onto his back. "God damn, how much do you weigh?"

"Hey, buddy, nice to know you made it." Jake looked up to see his best friend slide down the rain spout. In spite of the fact that he was hanging onto a ledge for dear life with a fat kid on his back, Jake felt himself grin. "Kind of like old times, isn't it?"

Dylan's answering grin was nostalgic. "Yeah. Everyone always did wonder how we did so well at rock climbing."

"The practice we had climbing other people's houses might have helped." Jake snickered.

"Indeed." Dylan then chanced a look down where he saw Julie's face about to turn purple with anxiety. "Well, I'll see you on the ground, then?"

"I suppose." Jake grinned as he saw Dylan slide the rest of the way down, the little girl he had on his neck screaming all the way. "Our turn, chubbs."

"No!" The boy howled but it was too late. Jake had already reached for the rain spout.

* * *

Carmen stood, surveying the wreckage that consisted of the orphanage. The fire department had only just gotten there and there wasn't much to salvage. She glanced towards the ambulances where Charlie and Fulton were being treated for burns. Her gaze was then inevitably drawn to the body bags that were being taken out of the smoldering ruins.

She heard footsteps behind her and immediately knew who it was. "How many?"

Dylan's face held no signs of laughter like it usually did. "Six. Apparently they were boxed in." He said quietly as his eyes followed the body bags as well. He then turned to look at the blonde. "It could've been a lot worse, Carmen."

"I know." She whispered before taking a deep breath. "How is everything else?"

"You might want to take over." Dylan advised before sneering in disgust. "Josh Landon is running around like a chicken with his head cut off. How that idiot rat bastard ever made president is beyond me. Dean Buckley just arrived and there are kids everywhere."

Carmen nodded as they started walking back towards the melee of people. "How many kids are there right now?"

"38 total."

"Alright. Start checking to see how many we can fit into the cars we have here."

"Where are we moving them?"

"Our dorm. The whole floor is technically empty because we're all here. It'll do for now. I'll let Landon and Buckley know. Spread the word among the others."

"Alright. By the way…you might want to do something about those cuts." The blond advised before walking away.

She absently touched one of the gashes near her temple. She knew she had more than one and yet she couldn't be bothered to care. Not when people had died tonight. And besides, there was too much to do. That much was obvious as she watched Josh Landon bark out orders that made absolutely no sense.

Carmen was not really a religious person.

Okay, not religious at all.

But as she took one more glance at the smoldering remains of the orphanage, she felt compelled to say a prayer. Reaching out to some sort of general deity, she asked for a blessing upon those that were gathered there that night and the strength to do all in her power to restore peace upon them. Then she opened her eyes and took the first step towards Josh Landon.

* * *

This was a nightmare.

Josh Landon was sorely regretting the day he had ever conceived the idea that he would run for president. Sure the perks were amazing but the stress wasn't worth it. And speaking of stress…his eyes narrowed as he saw a rather beaten up Rivera walking towards him.

"Good job, Rivera." He spat, feeling furious at her. "You know, I should have your admission up for review. Funny how every time we have trouble, you're already there. Is this some kind of sick game for you?"

Throughout his tirade, Carmen had kept her face impassive. However, enough was enough. There just wasn't enough time to deal with this impudent brat. "Landon," She cut in coldly, her eyes glowing with equal fury. "Let me give you a piece of advice. Don't try to act hard. You look absolutely ridiculous."

Josh's eyes bugged out as he felt his anger mount even higher. "Y-you…you…bit-"

"I strongly advise you not to finish that sentence." She replied calmly. "I'm not here to fight with you, Landon. I'm here to help you solve this mess."

"I don't need your help." The president growled. "Go home. I've got it taken care of."

"Really? What are you planning on doing?"

"It's none of your concern. Damn it, Rivera, you think you can single-handedly push me over?"

Carmen shrugged coolly. "I did it to Wilson, didn't I?"

He stared at her for a second before throwing his hands up in irritation. "Well, excuse me if I'm not too worried about a little girl who thinks she controls the world."

"You should be." Josh turned to see Dylan Howard walk towards them. "And you should be doubly worried when I decide to get involved."

"Still sniffing after Rivera, Howard?" The older boy remarked condescendingly as he looked upon the other.

"Stop trying to act hard, Landon. You can't pull it off." Dylan snarled, echoing Carmen's earlier words. "This isn't about you. This is about the kids who have no parents and no home. Get off your high horse and let us help."

"You've got to be kidding me." Josh groaned, running a tired hand over his eyes.

The soccer player's eyes were growing flintier by the second. "Landon, whatever Rivera decides to do, I will be behind her every step of the way. And the main difference between her and me is that she has morals. I don't. So I suggest you start acting in a manner that is acceptable."

"That's enough." Carmen broke in, looking as cold as ice. "What do you want, Howard?"

"The cars are ready. A couple more are coming down. We can start taking them there at your signal."

"Fine. Just gather them up, let Mrs. Finch know what we're doing." Carmen resisted the urge to slap the soccer player as he continued to glare at the other blond boy. "Now!"

"Right on." Dylan murmured, his eyes still steely. Carmen turned to Josh. "As for you, you're going to do exactly as I say."

"Do I have a choice?"

"No." Carmen paused for a second. "Josh, chances to do great things don't come along very often in life. This is your chance. Don't mess it up."

Josh sighed and pushed his hands into his pockets. "What do you need me to do?"

* * *

Jake Riley stretched and made his way down towards his car. Everything had cleared up, it seemed, so he decided it was high time to leave.

"Wait!" Jake turned around to see Moreau walk towards him. He inwardly groaned. It just wasn't his night. "Are you going back to Eden Hall?"

"Looks like it, doesn't it?" He replied sarcastically. "You know, Moreau, I know you're desperate but I do have standards. I'm not going to let just any girl into my car. First, you have to be…well, a _girl_."

Moreau glared at him, seemingly more annoyed by his sheer presence than by his remarks. That bothered Jake a lot for some reason. "Cut the shit, Riley. You sound like your brother."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"I wanted to ask you to take some kids back to Eden Hall. We're short on cars."

"You want me to shove some sniffling orphan brats into my newly cleaned car? No thanks, I'll pass."

Connie took a deep breath as she struggled to control her temper. This guy really took the cake. "Listen, I wouldn't have even spoken to you if I didn't need to. Could you try to think of anyone but yourself for once in your life?"

Jake paused, as if pondering the question. "Let me see…no! Later, Moreau. Hey, maybe if you beg, Conway will take you back and give those kids a ride."

"Don't bring Charlie into this."

"You asked for it when you fucked him."

"You are such a narcissistic asshole."

"Whatever you say, you self-righteous bitch."

"Brian!" The two stopped glaring at each other to witness a little girl run up to Jake. Sobbing, she flung herself onto his legs, hugging them for dear life. "I couldn't find you anywhere! You promised never to leave me!"

"What the fuck?" The words slipped from his mouth before Jake could stop them. He didn't even need Moreau's look of disapproval to know he shouldn't have said them. But it did get the little girl to look up and hurriedly back away.

"I-I'm sorry, sir. I th-thought you were my…so-someone else. Y-you look like him. I'm sorry." The little girl apologized miserably, backing away. She looked about six years old with dark eyes and dark curls. Connie smiled gently and knelt down to her, ignoring Jake's disbelieving eye roll. "It's okay. Who were you looking for?"

The little girl hastily wiped away a tear. "Brian. He's my brother."

"Tessie!" The three turned to see the director of the orphanage hurriedly waddle towards them. "What have I told you about running off? I need to make sure that you're safe!"

"Mama Finch!" Tessie immediately cried before running to the large woman. "Where's my brother? I can't seem to find him anywhere!"

The kindly woman's eyes suddenly filled with tears as she turned to look at the six body bags that lay next to each other not too far away. As tears started to slide down her careworn cheek, she too knelt down to the little girl's level. "Tessie, sweetie. Brian's in a better place right now. A very happy place."

Tessie's eyes were confused. Slowly, in her not yet developed mind, she was coming face to face with her first conscious look at tragedy. "I don't understand. When is he coming back? He promised he would never go anywhere without me!"

Mrs. Finch suddenly let out a broken sob and pulled the girl into her embrace. Even Connie felt tears slide down her face as she turned away. It wasn't fair. The child had already lost her parents. Now she had lost her brother. Without another word, Connie made to walk away, pointedly ignoring Riley.

"Moreau." She turned to look at him. He was staring at the crying little girl with an unreadable look in his eyes. He then turned to look at her. "I'm leaving in five minutes. If the kids don't show up before then, I'm going without them."

Connie nodded once. Just once. Just enough to show that she understood.

* * *

Allie Howard made her way to the lone figure sitting on a rock overlooking the debris. Even though their relationship had always been rocky, he was still family. And family stuck together.

"Hey."

Dylan looked up at her. "Hi."

"You're unusually quiet."

"It happens."

"Everyone's gone. All the kids have been moved."

"I can see." Dylan murmured dryly, jerking his head towards the view in front of him where only five or so people remained. "Why didn't you go with them?"

"I have to ride Elmer's back. I can barely handle him, no one else would be able to. And besides…I don't think the kids liked me very much."

"Do you blame them?" Her cousin replied grumpily. "Hell, _I_ don't even like you…and you're family."

Allie smirked slightly. He was such a little bitch sometimes. "Go back and get some sleep, will you?"

Dylan snorted. "Fat chance of that. Carmen's probably going to need me all night. And not in the pleasurable way either."

"She's speaking to you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." The blond boy gave an ironic, almost self-mocking smile. "She always speaks to me when there's work to be done."

"You two always did work the best together." Allie murmured thoughtfully, thinking about all the success the two had had during their terms in student government. Like it or not, they were the perfect, ruthless team. "Well, you should head back anyway."

Dylan nodded, standing up. "I suppose you're right. I should check up on Maddie. Next thing you know, she'll want to adopt one of the orphan brats as well."

"She does tend to do that, doesn't she?"

* * *

"Could you leave the light on, Adam?" A little girl mumbled as she snuggled deeper into her pillow. Adam carefully draped a blanket around her and her friend. "Of course. Sleep tight."

Stepping back, he regarded the state of their suites. There was barely space to move as children occupied every space available. Extra pillows and blankets had been moved out of the Health Center and still the kids were having trouble sleeping. Experiencing trauma could do that to a child.

Charlie leaned against the doorframe and watched his best friend make his way around their bedroom. Perhaps it was his gentle handling that had made a significant amount of children come to him for assurance. Charlie noticed that a large number of them were girls. He resisted the urge to smirk. That sly, pedophilic dog.

"Oh, Mama Banks." He sang as Adam tucked another blanket around a little boy. The center turned to fix him a sour glare. "What? We love the mother hen routine. You've got it down perfectly."

"Well, I would." Adam replied smoothly, making his way towards the girls' suite. "I baby-sat you for how long?"

"Ha ha." Charlie said disdainfully, following him. "Where're you going?"

"To check on the girls."

"It's a madhouse in Maddie's room. Just letting you know. She's found her new playmates."

Adam groaned as they approached her door, stepping over sleeping children all the way. Quietly, he opened it to see Maddie and at least thirteen other kids sleeping in various part of the room. "They've been flocking to her like ants at a picnic." Adam turned to see Connie come up behind him. "I see they've taken over my bed as well."

"We'll live." He then saw Charlie hovering on the outskirts of his vision. "I'm going to go back to my room. I should be there if anyone wakes up."

Connie sighed as she felt Adam's presence be replaced by Charlie's. "How're the burns?"

"I'll be fine." He answered, towering over her. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Listen-"

"I'm sorry."

Charlie stared at his feet. "I'm sorry too. I was a dick."

"You're always a dick." Connie mumbled. "I have no excuse."

"Bitch."

"Twat."

"Will you two watch your language!" They turned to see Banks glare at them.

"Sorry."

"So…we cool?" Charlie asked quietly, turning towards her.

Connie smiled and reached out to place a pillow under a sleeping kid's head. "We will be."

* * *

Luis whistled as he saw Carmen and Dylan drag themselves down the hallway. "Well, you two look like Hell warmed over."

Carmen didn't bother to dignify that with a response as she continued to trudge towards her suite. The doors were all open and showed glimpses of all the children that were crammed into every available space. Most of the Ducks had stretched out in the hallway as their own beds were occupied.

"Are they in the bathrooms too?" Dylan asked, looking exhausted. "I need a shower."

Julie shook her head from her seat on the floor. "No. Go ahead. And Maddie wanted you to wake her when you came back."

He nodded tiredly, before disappearing into his crowded suite. Carmen felt an extremely foreign twinge of gratitude towards the infamous blond before she stopped at her own door. Or where her door was supposed to be. "Where's our door?"

"Banks knocked it down earlier. You know how he gets." Charlie said flippantly as he disentangled himself from Carmen's couch.

A sleepy "Sorry" was heard from the hall where Banks was stretched out. "I'll fix it in the morning…"

Carmen looked at the exhausted hockey player who had immediately fallen back asleep and shook her head. "I'm so sorry about this, guys."

"Why?" Charlie asked, yawning as he lifted the metal safe box from her hands. "It's not your fault and all of us were glad to help. What the hell is this?"

"Records." Carmen answered distractedly, trying to open the door to her and Julie's bedroom. "Why is this locked?"

"Oh, we figured that you were going to be up all night, doing paperwork and whatever it is that you do…so we didn't let anyone go in here…you know, so you could get some peace and quiet."

The blonde gave him a grateful smile as she unlocked the door. "Thanks."

"No proble-I guess we missed one?"

Charlie and Carmen stared at the little boy who was sitting on Carmen's bed. He stared up at them, looking a little scared and clutching a knapsack tightly in his hands. He couldn't have been older than eight. "I thought you locked the door."

"So did I." Charlie answered, frowning a little. "How'd you get in here, little man?"

"I-I'm sorry." The little boy said, looking quite terrified and altogether miserable. "I p-picked the l-lock. It was really loud outside and I didn't know anyone was going to be in this room. Please, I'm sorry. I'll leave."

"It's okay." Carmen said, closing the door. "I guess you can stay here…if you don't mind the light being on. And if you can be quiet."

The little boy shook his head furiously, before doing a double take. "It's you!"

"What?" Carmen asked, rather startled at the sudden wide-eyed transformation that had undergone her young guest.

"The girl who saved me from the fire tonight! It's really you! You're the Angel of the Night!" The little boy marveled, sitting straight up and looking as if Christmas had come early.

Even though she recognized the boy she had jumped out the window for, Carmen remained utterly lost to what the kid was talking about. "I'm what? What are you talking about?"

"The Angel of the Night!" The little boy said excitedly, his hands digging into his bag and unearthing a comic book which he handed to Charlie and Carmen. On the cover was a curvy, dark blonde dressed in a black cat suit. The kid thought she was a bloody superhero. It was times like these when Carmen felt like turning into an alcoholic.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but I'm not," Carmen flipped through a couple pages, raising an eyebrow as she found the exact phrase, "a genetically enhanced crime fighter out to rid the world of evil."

"But you _look _like her." The little boy said doubtfully as he took the comic back and held it up.

This whole time, Charlie had been gazing at Carmen and the comic speculatively. "Not quite, buddy. Carmen's tits aren't as big as this girl's. That shit looks like beach balls." The eloquence of Charlie Conway was a natural wonder alright.

"Thank you, Conway." The girl in question snapped acidly. "Listen, kid, I'm not a superhero. I barely manage as an ordinary girl. So get this little idea out of your head immediately, alright?"

The little boy looked down at his feet and nodded mutely. He quietly put the comic back into his bag and kept his eyes focused downwards. Carmen felt the accusatory nudge that Charlie gave her and frowned at him. He frowned at her back, jerking his head towards the child.

"What's your name, anyway?" Carmen asked, as Charlie gave her a little push towards his direction. "And how old are you?"

"Nicholas Hunt. Most people call me Nick. I'm going to turn eight this summer." He answered quietly, looking up at her with huge, blue eyes. "What's your name?"

"I'm Carmen. This is Charlie. You've had a rough night, you should get some sleep."

"If you want me to. Where are you going to be?" He asked, getting underneath the covers.

"Right there." Carmen pointed to Julie's desk. "Good night."

"Shouldn't you tuck him in?" Charlie spoke up artfully. He was on a roll tonight.

The blonde girl stared at him. "What?" There were all sorts of nasty undertones that spoke of dire consequences in that simple word.

"Every little boy should be tucked in." Charlie answered defensively. "And he's been through a lot. He deserves some love. And besides, who better to tuck him in than his favorite superhero?"

_I will not kill him. I will not kill him, _Carmen chanted in her head as she gave him one last murderous glare. "I'll see you in the morning. Leave."

He winked at her merrily before sauntering out the door. _No wonder he and Howard get along so well, _she thought savagely before turning to the drowsy little boy. Reluctantly, she walked over to him.

"What's going to happen to us?" Nick asked sleepily. Carmen was suddenly reminded of Maddie at nighttime. She quickly brushed that aside and spoke honestly. "I don't know."

"They wanted to tear us down." He yawned, his eyelids drooping shut. "I overheard someone say that. And now that the place is gone…does this mean I have to move again?"

"No one's going to get rid of the orphanage." Carmen stated firmly, brushing his light brown hair away from his eyes. "Not while I'm alive. I promise you that." She carefully tucked the covers around the sleeping boy. "Sweet dreams."

She stood up and winced as one of the cuts on her face reopened. Maybe she should look at them before starting her research. Couldn't have her bleeding all over the files.

* * *

Guy handed a cup of coffee to his roommate as he left Carmen's room. "Have you gotten any sleep at all?"

Dylan gratefully accepted the cup before wincing at the bright morning sunlight that illuminated the girls' suite. Christ, is this what they woke up to every day? "I got an hour or so. I've been working."

"I saw." Guy murmured dryly, calmly resting his feet upon a boy's sleeping back. He shifted comfortably. "First time I've seen her not yell at you."

"She's a bit pre-occupied." Dylan answered, gulping down the rest of the coffee. "She's gotten it into her head to raise a significant amount of money."

"What for?"

"The orphanage. That's what we've realized after last night. If we present our case strongly enough, the city will grant the bare minimum to build a new one. And by bare minimum, I mean a building with primitive safety precautions. Carmen's decided we're going to make up the rest."

Guy pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Well, that sounds pretty reasonable. How much are we talking here?"

Dylan sighed and squinted towards the window that was streaming sunlight. "Around twenty grand."

The other boy choked on his coffee. "_What_? Where the hell is she going to raise that much cash?"

"Oh, raising it is easy enough."

"_Raising _it? Are you insane? You're good, Dylan, but you're not _that_ good."

"Germaine, baby boy. I'm a hustler. Carmen's a hustler. We can get that money. It's just a question of whether we're going to do it legally or not." Dylan smiled cheerily, getting up and tossing his cup out.

"Just a question of whether-" Guy repeated when his brain suddenly realized what his roommate had said. "No, no, no, no, no! Dylan!"

"Later!" The other smirked, as he skipped out the door.

Guy hurriedly scrambled after him. "Dude, let's talk about this! I've only recently started enjoying my life! I don't want to spend the rest of it behind bars! Dylan! Wait up!"

* * *

I am so sorry. I just couldn't bring myself to write. I knew the scenes that were going to happen but I was so damn lazy to do it. I made it extra long in reparation. I promise that the chapters/new stories will be coming out in a timely fashion this summer. I promise.

On another note, Garette Henson ( Guy ) and Marguerite Moreau ( Connie ) got married and have a kid?! Holy shit. Small world.

And ever wonder who prettyboy Dylan would look like? Search Alex Pettyfer. I just saw _Stormbreaker_ recently and was like "That's Dylan's face right there."

How was this chapter? It was dramatic. And definitely not something that would happen in everyday life. But if you wanted something that happened in everyday life, you wouldn't be reading fanfiction now, would you?

Hated it, loved it, hate me for not updating, love me for updating, it doesn't matter. Please let me know!

* * *

**Diamond Blue Eyes:** Unfortunately, Connie and Charlie are caputs. But if its any consolation, I have big plans for them! Thanks for the review, sweets!

**nikkiloola:** Hey! Haha, sorry that Julie/Portman wasn't resolved in this installment but I promise it will be! Thank you so much for the wonderful review!

**Tinkerbell821:** I can't hook Maddie and Adam up. It's too weird right now. I'm still feeling them out but it will probably happen. I'm sorry for not updating but my life got in the way. Thanks for the review.

**Reincarnated.Pink.Shoelace:** Thanks! It needed some comic relief after the mess that is Connie and Charlie's love life. Hope to hear from you again!

**LoudAndQuiet:** I love giving characters background stories. Lol, could you tell? Thanks for the review, sweets!

**Spunky-hyper-girl: **I'm glad you decided to read fanfiction too! Haha, thanks for your review and thanks for your praise. It's stuff like that that keeps me going.

**lkwREADer**: Dylan is an idiot. But we love him, right? Thank you so much for your praise. I love how you comment on everything! It gives me an idea into what people like and is so helpful you have no idea.

**Sphinx005:** Hey, you! It's always a pleasure to see your wonderful reviews. Haha, I hope I made your _summer_ by updating! But anyway, thanks so much for the review!

**Pixiedust5:** Hey! I'm so happy you love my story! Thanks for the review!

**AngelEllie**: Haha, well, they're married in real life! Ain't that something? Anyway, it was lovely to hear from you! Thanks!

**punkteacher:** Awww, I'm all a-blush! Thank you so much! Your stories are a legend in the MD world and it's really an honor that you like my stuff.

**ratti pillo:** Hey! Thanks for the PM! You totally made my day be sending me that! No, I'm afraid I don't know Angie but at least we both have pseudo-Maddie friends in common. Hope to hear from you again!

**sinbin05:** Of course, I can forgive you! I'm ashamed to admit that I don't really review either. Actually…I haven't even read fanfiction in a long time. It's all I can do to write it, you know? Anyway, thanks so much for the review!


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Mighty Ducks. Which is a shame, really. I'm sure they'd like me._

– _Chapter Eleven –_

* * *

Carmen Rivera surveyed the papers in front of her wearily. Approximately twenty four hours had passed since the tragedy at the orphanage and she hadn't slept a wink during that time. Even now as she looked out the window and saw the sun slowly rising, her mind barely registered her body's exhaustion as it was too preoccupied.

She sighed and slipped the sheets into a folder, cursing Julie's small desk. As the rest of the suites were teeming with children, she had been forced into her bedroom for quiet, leaving only Julie's desk as an option. She thought longingly of her own massive desk in their sitting room which now occupied a comfortably snoring Charlie Conway.

A slight snuffle made her look up towards her bed. Her brow furrowed as she took in the new, peacefully sleeping inhabitant of the room. Nicholas Hunt, the little boy she had bodily saved from the burning building, seemed to harbor an absurd notion that she was a superhero in disguise and no matter how much she tried to dispel that idea, he seemed to hold on with stubborn tenacity.

He was a remarkably sweet boy, she supposed, and rather intelligent for his age. Beyond all that, he had a tendency to speak only when spoken to and listen to what others were saying. Carmen liked him well enough…well, as much as she could like a child. It was just the small fact that he seemed to regard her with some sort of awed reverence that threw her off.

It was just plain fucking creepy.

Carmen had never held any illusions that she was some sort of saint and Nick's blatant adoration of her threw her off guard. He had gotten attached to her and the rest of the Ducks, she was sure. That alone was bound to make their inevitable separation more painful for the boy but what made matters worse was that it seemed that the other Ducks had gotten attached to _him_ as well.

Connie and Julie babied him outrageously while Maddie seemed to have found her new best friend. The Bash Brothers had started teaching him the joys of hockey while Howard had already shown him the benefits of a charmingly worn lopsided smile.

Speaking of Howard…Carmen walked over to Julie's bed where the irrepressible blond had fallen asleep. Her lip curled distastefully as she noticed the stack of paperwork she had given him served as his pillow.

"Howard, if you so much as drooled on that, there will be hell to pay." She threatened, keeping her voice at a decent level in case she woke Nick up.

His grey eyes snapped open as he propped himself up. Even while blinking blearily at her, he managed to look indignant. "I don't drool. It's _so_ plebeian."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she walked over to the window, drawing the curtains so that sunlight filled the room. "Fix your hair, you look like a haystack." _He is so vain_, she thought as she heard him scramble towards her mirror, his hands already working on the strands. "How much of that did you get through before you passed out?"

"Enough." He retorted, turning back around. "Enough to realize that we might not get back the orphanage. Carmen, we're in way over our heads. Our previous estimates are nothing to the new stats you gave me. Not only that, we're going up against the _city_. You thought the alumni board was tough? Try the government."

Carmen shook her head adamantly. "No. Failure is not an option. We need-"

Dylan groaned. "Damn it, Rivera! You think I _want _to say that we're going to lose the orphanage? I feel as sorry for these kids as the next guy but facts remain! We might – and I stress, _might_ – have a chance to get the funding to get a new building but what then? They won't be able to pay for the upkeep, those high tech safety precautions you wanted, maintenance. This just might not happen!"

"Carmen?" A tiny voice spoke up.

Whipping around, Carmen saw Nick sitting up in bed, wide eyed and clutching her comforter. Cursing Howard for waking him up, she walked over to him. "Hey. Sorry we woke you."

"Is everything alright?" The little boy asked, peering over at a tired and peeved looking Dylan. The soccer player nonetheless grinned at him after Carmen sent him a warning look. "Of course, it is, Nicky boy! Why don't you go get cleaned up? I'll take you and Maddie to breakfast."

Nick nodded obediently as he clambered out of bed. Waving a goodbye to Carmen, he walked out the door, glancing back uneasily at the two of them. Dylan turned to Carmen. "We have a meeting with Buckley and Landon in an hour to go over this unholy mess. We'll probably be with him while the kids are being transported to the shelter. Say any goodbyes now." He murmured before he followed Nick out the door.

The blonde girl didn't answer him.

* * *

A lump formed in Maddie's throat as she saw the scene in front of her. It had been bad enough to load all those poor orphans onto the buses that would take them to another orphanage. She _liked_ those kids! And now they were going away!

But this…Maddie swallowed as she walked towards the group.

Bagel sat surrounded by four or five children, being pet and coddled. He had been with them since they first arrived on his floor and being unusually good at comforting, had stayed with them through it all. Even now, he had followed his most loyal companions out to the buses. His owner could barely keep from outright sobbing.

He perked up as Maddie approached and the faces on the children turned downcast. They thought she was here to reclaim what was hers. Things had always been taken away in their life and they had come to realize that this was their lot in the world.

"Bagel."

The lovable beagle trotted over to her. Bending down, she petted him lovingly. "I'll understand, you know. They need you more and well…it's your choice. I won't hold you back." She murmured, tears starting to slide down her cheeks.

Bagel was suddenly overcome with a rush of love for his gentle master. She was quite possibly the most unselfish person he had ever met and was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for others. He made a curious little noise that sounded like a cross between a snuffle and a grunt and trundled forward to lick her on the cheek.

Maddie smiled at him tremulously and gave him a quick hug. "I'll come to visit." She promised, seeing the answer in his eyes. She then gave him a little push in the direction of the stunned group of orphans. One little boy hesitatingly picked him up and turned to look at the previous owner. "T-thank you." He stammered, his eyes wide.

"Take care of him, please." She hiccupped, still kneeling on the ground. Not trusting herself to speak, she gestured for him to get on the bus. With a backwards glance, the little boy did so.

She watched the buses pull out of the parking lot, feeling as if her heart would break in two. Absently standing up, she dusted herself off and stared blankly at the road when a warm arm slipped around her shoulders. "That was very noble."

Maddie nodded miserably before suddenly turning to bury her face in the hockey player's chest with an anguished wail. Somehow, his crisp, clean, windy scent just seemed to make her more miserable and the tears doubled.

Adam Banks tightened his grip around her as he held her sobbing form. "Shhh." He murmured, feeling a little out of his league. He hated seeing Maddie cry. It was just wrong. "Hey, look on the bright side. You still have Dylan. He's just as needy as a dog. And he's not even potty- trained yet." He offered, making an attempt at humor.

Maddie's response to that was to sob even harder.

"I'll get you another dog. Or cat. Or whatever animal you want. Hell, we can even get two." Adam said desperately.

After several moments, a hiccup was heard. "You promise?"

He smiled down at her. "Whatever you want, you'll have."

Maddie made a decidedly unattractive noise and wiped her eyes roughly with the sleeve of her coat. He calmly reached into his pocket and retrieved his handkerchief. Wiping her tears away gently, he chided her. "Don't do that. You'll chafe your skin."

She let out a rather sad little giggle before throwing her arms around his neck. "Portman said that only pussies use handkerchiefs. I'll make an exception for you."

* * *

"I don't understand."

"What else is new?" Dylan drawled, lounging in his chair. His relaxed demeanor stood in sharp contrast to the stiff and tense bodies that surrounded him. Rivera looked colder than ice…especially now as she glared at him for making fun of Josh Landon.

The guy practically asked for it just by breathing! She couldn't possibly be angry with him for that, could she?

Who was he kidding, of course she could.

"Anyway," Josh continued, shooting him a nasty glare. "what you're suggesting makes no sense, whatsoever."

"Indeed, Miss Rivera, maybe you should explain it one more time, perhaps a bit clearer?" Dean Buckley asked delicately, well aware of the slowly burning ire behind those golden eyes.

"And I don't see how she can _be_ any more clearer! She's already done it three times!" Dylan snapped, finally looking angry. "You're going to tire her out."

"Howard. Shut _up_." Carmen ground out, her eyes flashing dangerously as she focused on Dean Buckley and Landon. "Alright. One more time. The city has been trying to shut down this orphanage for the past ten years. Ever since the new, nicer one has been built across town. I guess they figured it wasn't logical to provide funding for two orphanages so close to each other, especially since the new one has the facilities to fully provide for the occupants in our orphanage as well. The fact that it was practically a historical landmark was the only thing that was keeping it from demolition."

Landon nodded, shoving a new pencil towards his vice president. "Yes, yes. That makes sense."

"Oh, I'm _so_ glad. Getting kind of bored, waiting for you to catch up, Joshy boy." Dylan sneered insolently.

Carmen ploughed on, reminding herself that she needed Howard alive. He was of no use to her dead. "Now that the orphanage is gone, however, we're not sure if the city will be willing to authorize the construction of another building. But with some pushing, we can overcome that."

"How?" Landon's vice president asked bluntly, other members of the room nodding their heads in agreement.

"We appeal to the public…and then adopt the orphanage as a sort of sister establishment to Eden Hall." Carmen answered simply.

A stunned silence greeted her words. Then murmurs of disbelief arose. "That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! Little girl, have you lost your mind?" One of the alumni members asked harshly.

"Maybe. But at least she still has her hair." Dylan answered cheekily, with a smirk towards the man's receding hairline.

Dean Buckley looked irritably at the lounging blond. "Mr. Howard, if you can't keep your smart aleck comments to yourself, I will ask you to leave!"

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "As you wish, Buckles dearest." He drawled, throwing a wink to Landon's vice president. To his satisfaction, she blushed and hastily concentrated on her notes. A whole year older than him and he had her wrapped around his finger. Was he good or was he good?

"Enough." Carmen snarled, resulting in immediate silence. "The situation could be mutually beneficial, ladies and gentlemen. We can appeal to the public, using their empathy to get the city to reconsider. Not only that, but if we propose to them a joint collaboration with the new orphanage, essentially taking it under our wing, we can secure the orphanage for these children."

"Carmen, my dear," Dean Buckley began gently, "this is a very noble cause you've taken up but it is a very grandiose one."

"Sir, the students at Eden Hall can utilize the orphanage as well! It provides a place for community service, an investment of their time! Providing a direct link from the school to the orphanage would not only make the lives of the children better but also help serve Eden Hall's community outreach." She said, running her fingers through her hair anxiously.

That was the sign of extreme nervousness and agitation. Dylan had been stalking Carmen for the better part of three years and he knew her quirks. She was going about the board of directors the wrong way. For all her cunning, she sure was innocently idealistic sometimes. It must have been because of the whole vagina thing. All common sense in a girl's body seemed to dribble out of there.

"There are other reasons for considering Carmen's proposal." Dylan spoke up, not even bothering to get up. He examined his fingernails while he spoke, oozing an irritating sense of superiority. "Due to the debacle that was Wilson – that was all your fault, by the way – Eden Hall has suffered a massive blow to its reputation. Potential students and their families are probably going to want to see what kind of redeeming qualities Eden Hall could offer. An orphanage that's student managed? Probably the first of its kind. Something only Eden Hall could offer."

He paused and looked at the other members surrounding the table. "In a sense, the orphanage would be a new investment. Think about it. All that orphan meat just lying around, waiting to be harvested. Accept a couple of the more promising ones as students, pound them full of information, export them to Harvard or Yale, market them as success stories Oprah could be proud of and we'll have publicity flooding our doors. Hell, we might even beat Phillips Exeter in the national rankings. Oh and not to mention, the inevitable tax breaks."

Dylan smiled smugly at the stunned faces of the assembled people. He'd always had a way with words. He absently tweaked a cufflink on his pressed white dress shirt and caught sight of Dean Buckley's flabbergasted visage. _They're all ripe for the picking, the insufferable coots_, he thought gloatingly.

"Let's say we were to entertain this…whim of yours…" The balding man said, his eyes narrowed shrewdly. "How much would it cost the school? If we take the orphanage under our wing, we'll have to help supply it with state of the art precautions and facilities. Not to mention, general maintenance. What would be the damage?"

Carmen looked at him calmly. "Around twenty five thousand, sir."

"Holy shit." Josh Landon breathed, loosening the tie around his neck.

"Money that I'm confident we can raise." The blonde announced quietly. She looked at the group. "I can get that money if you give me a chance. You know my reputation. I'm as resourceful as they come."

Dean Buckley leaned forward as he regarded his most promising student in the class of 2008. "Carmen, my dear, if we do grant this, will you take responsibility for it? Fundraising, and all that goes along with it? And will you agree to back down if you fail?"

She swallowed, as she felt the eyes of everyone in the room zone in on her. Realizing the implications of the Dean's statements, she bit her lip before she caught a pair of familiar grey eyes. Flicking her gaze over to Dylan, she saw him nod at her, his eyes unreadable. Turning back to the board members, she lifted her head. "Yes, I take full responsibility."

The old man nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Then you have our consent. You and Mr. Howard may withdraw while we make the necessary decisions."

"Finally." Dylan snorted, jumping up. "Come on, love. You've won your case, now let's _go_."

Blindly, Carmen clutched her portfolio to her chest and stumbled towards the door before realizing something. "Sir?"

"Yes?" Dean Buckley answered, peering at her over his glasses.

"I don't fail. Ever."

* * *

"That went well."

Carmen turned to see Howard leaning against the wall with an extremely self-satisfied expression on his face. "Now please enlighten me as to how we're going to get that cash?"

There was something else on Carmen's mind however as she glared at him witheringly. "Orphan meat? You addressed them as orphan meat?"

"What?" The blond started defensively before being cut off by a wave of the hand.

"No! Stop talking. I'm going back to the dorm. I've spent entirely too much time with you in the past thirty six hours. Wait five minutes before following me. I don't want to hear or see a flash of you until tomorrow." She ordered, before walking away.

Dylan gaped at her for a full six seconds before his usual smirk appeared back on his face. _She's always walking away from me but god damn if the view isn't amazing_, he thought as he openly admired her hourglass figure…among other things.

* * *

With a heavy heart, Maddie trudged back to her dorm when a flash of blue caught her eye. Frowning slightly, she peered closer and saw the unmistakable form of Nicholas Hunt, sitting quite morosely on the ground, half hidden behind a shrub.

"Nick?"

The little boy jumped, his hands coming out of his careworn blue jacket. "M-Maddie!"

"What are you doing here?" The dancer asked, coming over to him. "Everyone left!"

His blue eyes hardened defiantly. "I'm not going back. I don't care. I'm sick of it. I'll run away if you make me!"

"I see." Maddie murmured softly before tears started rolling down her face.

Nick stared at her in shock before fumbling in his pockets. Finally coming up with the tattered remains of what was once most likely a tissue, he wrinkled his brow and reached over and wiped her face gently with his sleeve. He smiled awkwardly when she looked at him and shrugged. "This jacket's old. It's okay. They didn't really give us new clothes at the orphanage."

The older girl let out a sniffle. "I'm sorry. It's just that I just ga-gave Bagel away and it-it-it sucks!" She finished with a little wail.

"Oh. That was awfully nice of you."

Perhaps it was because the pain in her heart was so fresh. Or perhaps it was because of her deep-seated nature to care for all things left behind. Whatever it was, Maddie opened her arms towards the little boy.

Nick stepped into her embrace and wrapped his arms around her as she picked him up. "Where are you going?" A slight note of panic entered his voice.

"Back to the suite."

"You're not going to make me go back?"

"No."

"Are they going to let me stay?"

There was an unholy glint of determination in Maddie's eye. "I have all of them wrapped around my finger. And I mean, _all _of them. You're staying."

Nick bit his lip. "Is Carmen going to be mad? I don't want her to be upset with me."

"Well…we'll let Banks take care of her. You hungry?"

"A little." He admitted.

"How do you like tofu and zucchini?"

* * *

"Hand me the Phillips screwdriver."

"What?"

"The Phillips screwdriver."

Charlie stared at his best friend blankly. "Banksie, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Connie Moreau let out a disbelieving snort as she got up off the couch. "I got you, Banks. Go sit down, Charlie."

"Thanks." Adam murmured as she handed him the screwdriver and flashed his captain a dirty look. To which Charlie responded with a flick of his middle finger. "Real mature, Charlie."

"Whatever." Charlie sniffed, sprawling out on the couch. He then cocked his head to observe his two friends trying to fix the broken door to the girls' suite. "You know, you wouldn't have to fix it if you hadn't broken it in the first place." He remarked slyly, picking up a magazine.

"I already said – Connie, could you hold that up – that I was sorry." Adam growled as he tightened a screw. "How is it up there? Wobbly?"

"A little." Connie answered before sighing irritably. "You're going to have to tighten it. I can't reach."

Various snickers reached her ears. Connie's eyes narrowed as she heard the chortles of Averman and Goldberg from the opposite suite. "Ever heard of helping?" She called out to them peevishly.

Goldberg popped his head out from his suite. "You see, we would – oh, hellooo, Banks." He whistled, seeing the center hammering in a nail. "That's just hot. When're you taking off your shirt?" He grinned lasciviously. "Hey, lookie, boys! It's like a Manly Men calendar!"

"Easy, boys. The poor thing's delicate." Julie drawled, coming out of her room to join in the fun. She then raised an eyebrow. "Why, Adam, no tool belt? You've got to have the whole effect."

"I think he's going to strip later." Charlie added helpfully as he turned his head to admire a scantily clad Adrianna Lima in a catalogue.

A red faced Adam resolutely set his jaw and ignored the cat calls of his fans. Irritably giving the nail one last hammer, he turned around to glare at a giggling Julie and Charlie. "Cute. Real cute. Get someone else to fix the door next time." He snapped testily.

A grinning Connie swung the door a few times. "Banks, baby, I can fix it just fine. Only I need a ladder to do it. It's sticking a little."

The harassed hockey player immediately came over and jiggled the door. "I'll loosen it a smidgen." He muttered, fishing the screwdriver out again.

"Did he just say smidgen?" Russ asked incredulously, walking over to them. "Who the hell says smidgen?"

Adam threw up his hands. "What is this? 'Pick on Banks' day?"

"Don't be silly, that's everyday. Hello, Miss Ambrosio." Charlie whistled as he continued to rifle through the lingerie magazine.

"Oh, the door's fixed! Thanks, Adam!" Maddie exclaimed, coming through the suite with Nick in her arms. "See you later, guys!" She smiled cheerfully as she hurriedly sped towards her room.

There was a shocked silence as the assembled group tried to reconfigure the mental image the dancer had created. Connie groaned as she realized what exactly her roommate was carrying. "Madison Lola Kim!"

Her head poked out through their bedroom. "Yes?"

"Why do you have Nick with you?" Julie asked warily, crossing her arms over her chest.

Maddie looked artfully confused. "Who's Nick?"

Russ carefully hid a snicker as Connie and Julie zeroed in on her. Thank the Lord for this girl, she made life fun.

"Maddie! You can't just take in anything you want! He's an actual person!" Connie almost screamed with despair. "Nick, come out here right now!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Maddie yelled over the din that now surrounded the suite. Charlie and Russ had given into raucous peals of laughter while Connie and Julie were banging on the closed door, yelling all sorts of dire threats. Adam just leaned against the doorframe, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Maddie, if you don't open the door right now, I'll have Banks knock this one down too!" Julie ordered, her face going red. "Don't think I won't!"

There was a defiant snort from behind the door. "I'm not scared of him! I've seen him in his _knickers_!"

"Why's she been looking at you in your underwear?" Russ asked a sputtering Adam, raising an eyebrow.

Charlie had already seen an opening to further antagonize his best friend so he barged ahead. "Hey, Maddie! Were they hot pink briefs with purple hearts on them? I gave him those!" He called out towards the still closed door, ignoring the glares that the girls sent him. Those glares didn't even compare to the one coming from the subject of the conversation.

"Nope! Light blue boxers with _dinosaurs_!" She called back out blithely. "They were actually kinda cute, I want a pair."

At this new revelation, Connie turned around to stare at Adam who looked close to hyperventilating. "Dinosaurs?"

"It was laundry day." He snapped defensively. "The whole thing was an accident!"

"He was so embarrassed!" Maddie's unmistakable giggle could be heard from behind the door. "I was looking for my shirt and I thought Dylan might have it and so I went into their suite to look for it only Adam was coming out of the bathroom like that and he just _froze_ and then he started yelling at me to get out but he couldn't touch me cause I didn't have a shirt on and he started yelling at me for _not_ having clothes on and then I told him I liked his boxers and he just went all red and _scampered_ back into his room!"

"So you were perving on her too, eh, Banks?" Russ grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

"I was not _perving_ on _anyone_!" Adam almost screamed, his face turning purple. "It's not my fault she walks around naked all the time!"

"Whoa, so you've seen her naked too?" Charlie snickered, finally putting down the catalog.

"I think Adam has body image issues!" Maddie howled from behind the door.

Adam grasped his hair hysterically. "Here, why don't I save everyone the trouble and just take this screwdriver and drive it into my brain? I'll kill myself right now instead of later!"

"Oh, stop being such a drama queen, Banks." Julie huffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"I-d-drama!" He choked out before pointing at the closed door. "Hey, can we get back to the main problem? Which is Maddie smuggling in a seven year old boy?"

"She what?"

Everyone stopped talking at the sight of Carmen. Although smartly dressed in a tailored black skirt suit, exhaustion practically radiated off of her. Her expensive looking heels clicking on the floor, she walked into the suite. "She what?" She asked again, her eyes narrowing.

"Maddie and Nick are inside our bedroom right now." Connie said exhaustedly, rubbing her temple. She ignored the muttered "snitch!" that came from Charlie.

Carmen opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it. Turning towards the door, she spoke in a tone that brooked no form of resistance. "Maddie. Come out now. Guys, could you excuse us?" She asked, pointedly looking at Russ and Charlie.

"Of course." Julie said, reaching over to drag Russ out. Connie followed with a grumbling Charlie by the ear.

After a brief pause, the door slowly opened and a sullen looking girl trudged out.

"Why isn't Nick with the others?" Carmen asked quietly.

Maddie scuffed her feet on the carpet. "I don't know. I found him when the buses had already left. He didn't want to go back."

"Maddie-" The blonde began before she was cut off by the impassioned dancer.

"It's not right! He said he didn't want to go back! He said he'd run away again! He hates it there! How do you expect me to go against something like that-"

"It's not that I don't expect you to, I wish he didn't have to go back to that either. It's just the circumstances-"

"No one should have to live with feelings like that! What kind of life-"

"Maddie, dear, I know but still-"

"They beat him!"

Carmen blinked. "No, they didn't!" She snapped impatiently.

"Well, I bet it crossed their minds!"

"What-Maddie! We can't let him stay here! This is a fucking boarding school!"

"And we're sending him off to his own personal Hell! Adam!" Adam suddenly found himself being squeezed around the middle as Maddie hurtled over to him. "Adam, you promised!"

He resolutely closed his eyes to avoid looking at her pleading face. "Maddie, I meant a dog, not a little boy-"

"What's the deal, man? What's with all the noise?" Dylan Howard asked, as he sauntered into the room, somehow already having changed into jeans and a sweatshirt.

"I hate you! You're a dirty liar!" Just as quickly, Maddie had released Adam and rushed over to her best friend. "Dylan! Please help me!"

"What's going on, sweetheart?" Dylan asked, brushing away some tears that had started running down her face. "What did the big, bad Banks do now?"

"They're trying to take Nick back to the orphanage! I know I shouldn't have brought him back but he had missed the buses anyway and he said he was going to run away if I made him go back and I gave Bagel away and Nick doesn't have _anyone _except us – please! You can't make him go back there!"

Dylan blinked as he tightened his hold around the sobbing girl. "Oh. You've been busy while I was gone. Alright, alright. Okay, calm down. That's my pretty girl." He guided her towards the sofa. "Here, take a seat. Is Banks upsetting you? Yes? No? Well, I'll send him away anyway. Yo Banks, get your ugly mug out!" He hollered at the stunned hockey player who rolled his eyes and walked out of the suite. He then took the cup of water that Carmen silently brought over to him. "There now, drink up."

Maddie mutely took the mug from his hands and stared down into it. With a glance at Dylan, Carmen took a seat on the coffee table in front of her. "Maddie, listen. I know that Nick doesn't have anyone. However, we can't keep him. He's not a dog, he's a little boy. Besides, we're not even eighteen. We're not adults. He has school to go to, his guardian is the government. He's a ward of the state. We have no power over him. _They_ take care of him."

"They can't take care of him that much, can they? They didn't even notice he was gone! The buses left an hour ago. And there _still_ hasn't been a call asking where he is." Maddie sniffed scornfully.

Dylan winced. Sometimes he forgot that Maddie was actually smart. "Hey, is Nick still there? Let's trot him out, then. Nick! Come out here!"

The door slowly opened and the little boy came out. There was a slight tremble in his walk yet he carried himself with pride and dignity. Dylan had to give the kid some credit. You just couldn't teach baller tactics like those. And this kid was a _baller_.

"Everything she said is true." Nick announced before Carmen and Dylan had a chance to speak. "I hate it there. If you make me go back, I'll run away. I'd rather die than go back. Sometimes I wish I died along with my parents." He looked directly at Carmen when he said that, almost as if he was trying to shock the level of his hate into her.

"Awfully strong words coming from a seven year old." Dylan murmured, before pulling Maddie up. "I'm going to try to talk some sense into the big one. You got the little one?" He asked Carmen, already tugging a protesting Maddie towards the door.

Carmen nodded as she turned to look at Nick. He was staring at his feet and she knew that he was about ready to cry. _Fuck it if I know how to deal with kids, let alone crying ones_, she thought mutinously. "What on Earth have you been doing?" She asked, staring at his dirt covered cheeks and opting for a lighter subject. "Why don't you take a shower? I'll get you some clothes."

The little boy looked up at her with hopeful blue eyes. "You're letting me stay?"

"Nick-" Carmen sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She gave him a weak smile. "Why don't you go get cleaned up first? We'll talk afterwards. Did Maddie feed you?"

"Yes." He answered politely before catching sight of Carmen's skeptical expression. "Tofu. It was okay, I guess."

"You didn't have more than three bites, did you?" She asked, standing up.

Nick shook his head. "I didn't feel like eating."

"That's a polite way to put it." Carmen murmured absently, rummaging around for a clean towel. "How does a cheeseburger sound?"

"Really good!" He said enthusiastically, accepting the towel.

"Alright. Go get cleaned up, I'll get you a cheeseburger, and we can talk. Go on." Carmen ordered, pushing him towards the bathroom.

"Carmen…"

"Yes?" She said, turning around to look at him. He stared back at her, looking very vulnerable and _childlike_. "What's the matter?"

"Y-you're not m-mad at me, a-are you? For not going back to the place?" He asked, his fingers worrying the towel.

Nick saw those glorious amber eyes soften a tiny bit as she shook her head at him. "Of course not, dear. Now _go_."

After she saw him close the door, Carmen sank onto the couch, feeling boneless. She had no idea what the Hell she was going to do.

* * *

Julie slipped into her bedroom that night and saw Carmen sitting by her bed, lost in thought. "Hey."

Carmen jumped and looked at her. "Hey."

"Maddie wanted me to bring the Ball over. Said it might comfort him a little." Julie murmured quietly, holding the furry white sphere that was purring in her hands. Walking over to Carmen's bed, she placed it next to the little boy's sleeping figure. The Ball rubbed herself closer to the boy's body and then curled up next to him, contently purring. "So what's going to happen?"

"I have no clue." Carmen admitted, looking at a loss. "I just spent the last two hours talking with him. He's a good kid…and I just can't bear to send him back to a place where he wishes he was dead. Fucking hell, he's only seven!" She whispered the last part agitatedly.

"So we're going to let him stay?"

"Carmen?" The two girls turned to see Nick turn around sleepily, his hand curling around the Ball.

"Yes?" The girl asked before realizing the other had already went back to sleep.

Julie sat down on her bed and looked at her roommate. "So we're going to let him stay?"

There was a silence as Carmen stared at her hands. "I…I guess we're going to try."

* * *

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean-oh…hi."

"Hi."

Julie bit her lip as she adjusted the enormous box she was carrying. Portman looked just as awkward as he stood next to her. They hadn't spoken since that night in the bathroom and she had just about washed her hands of the matter. High school was hard enough without him complicating things.

"Here, let me take that." Portman suddenly said, reaching for the box. Julie stared at him dumbly. "You're bringing this to the post office?"

"What-yeah. Yeah, I am. Just some winter clothes that I want to send home." She mumbled, scurrying after him as he walked down the path. What the hell was going on? They were being civil to each other now?

"So…Nick's staying with us for awhile?" He asked, not meeting her eyes as they walked.

Okay, they could take about Nick. He was a neutral subject. "Yeah. Carmen beat them down. I don't even want to know how…but only until May-ish. That's when they figure the new orphanage will be up."

"It's still a month. What's he doing about school?"

"Adam's been taking him every morning. And I think Carmen's bringing him back."

"Right."

There was a very pregnant pause as the mailroom came into view.

"I remember the first time I saw you." Portman suddenly blurted out, stopping in his tracks. "I didn't think girls were going to be at the Goodwill Games and then you showed up. You were wearing this white dress and your hair was really blonde and you looked like you belonged in a Miss New England pageant than a hockey rink. I actually thought it was a joke…until you just reached out and caught an acorn that was falling from a tree. Out of the air! It was incredible! You didn't even blink!"

Julie gaped at the rambling defenseman. What was going _on_? Was everyone smoking something that she wasn't privy to?

"And you weren't giggly. You never fucking giggled! You were _weird_! You kept up with the boys and you and Connie were always hard core and it was _weird_!" Portman ranted, setting the box down on a nearby bench. Julie found herself being pushed down onto it by a large agitated hand as well. "And you were really pretty and smart and then you went out with _Banks_!"

At this, Portman's hands clenched involuntarily. "I know you guys only went out for like two weeks but it was like a slap to the face. It made me realize how fucking inadequate I was. Scooter just drove that home." He let out a short, bitter laugh. "I don't know if I love you, Jules, or if I love the idea of you. You're an ideal…something that I can't touch. Something I compare every single girl I meet to. Something that only Banks, Scooter, or any other preppy, rich white boy, can satisfy."

"Portman." Julie began brokenly, staring at him with wide blue eyes. "Never-you-you…you never mentioned any of this…ever!"

The look he gave her was surprisingly soft and almost wistful. "I grew up in a big city. We learn to hide feelings. And we learn when to let go. That's why that night wasn't supposed to happen. I don't deserve you, Jules." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I hope we can stay friends…if you're not too freaked out about me telling you all of this. I've got to run but um…I'll see you around."

And with that, he left.

Julie sat back on the bench and gazed blearily around her. After several moments of contemplation, she could only come up with one thing to say. "Oh fuck me."

* * *

"Luis?"

Luis looked up from his reading and peered over at the curvy blonde. "Hey, Carmen. What can I do for you?"

"Sorry to interrupt but I was wondering if you could help me out with a couple questions I had."

"Sure." Luis answered, closing his physics textbook. "Shoot."

"What do you know of the Harmon School?"

"The all girls school a town away?"

"Yeah. You went to one of their dances, right? I just want to know your take on them."

"Why don't you just ask Dylan? He's probably known a whole bunch of them since grade school." Luis then frowned slightly. "He's probably hooked up with them too."

"He's shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Yes. Nick needed some new clothes and I was going to send Banks to get him some but Howard found out and threw a fit. After accusing me of trying to scar Nick into a life of sweater-vested self loathing, he took the kid out himself."

"He's got a point. Banks would have dressed him in polos and khakis. And God forbid…_loafers_."

"I suppose. Now what do you think of the Harmon girls?"

"Very rich."

"Well yes, I know. I need more information than that."

Luis furrowed his brow, thinking back to that night. "They're pretty much Daddy's little girls. Everything money can buy. Not overly bright, the lot of them, since the brighter ones go to Ibsen Prep, the other all girls school."

"Ibsen Prep, you say?" Carmen asked, jotting the name down in her planner.

"Yeah. Ibsen's nerdier. Harmon's prettier…cause well, all they do is primp. Ibsen's just as rich but a lot of the girls are socially awkward."

"And?" She asked him, her amber eyes looking at him directly.

"And what?"

"How are their…I guess you would say, morals?"

Luis smirked slightly, remembering a _very _good night. "Nonexistent. Well, the Harmon girls at least."

"And the Ibsen girls?"

"A little stiff at first. But treat them a little nice and they're borderline desperate. Must be hard going to an all girls school…poor things." He added, not sounding sympathetic in the slightest.

"Thank you." Carmen closed her planner with a satisfied gleam in her eye.

* * *

Nicholas Hunt shifted awkwardly as he noticed the stares of a group of teenage girls. "Dylan?"

The blond grunted as he studied a shirt closely. Nodding in satisfaction, he motioned the salesman over. "Can we get this in blue? A small. Thanks. Clothes lesson number five, Nicky, always have a lot of shirts in the color of your eyes."

"Yes, yes." The little boy answered impatiently before tugging on the taller boy's sleeve. "Those girls have been looking at us ever since we came into this store. Are we not supposed to be here?"

"What?" Dylan frowned, looking over at the group of giggling girls. He immediately relaxed and flashing a lopsided smile in their general direction, he ruffled the child's hair. "No worries, buddy. They're just hot for our bods."

Nick looked doubtfully at the renewed giggles that broke out amongst the girls. "They look awfully old."

"Life lesson number four, kid. Never mention age and women in the same sentence. Ever." Dylan instructed, grabbing the shopping bag in one hand and the little boy's hand in the other. "Maybe we should buy you cleats. Have you ever played soccer?"

"No…well, yes. But I don't like it that much." Nick said before brightening. "But Carmen plays tennis and she said she'd teach me! I saw her play, she's really good!"

The look of disdain in Dylan's eyes was painfully obvious. "Tennis? You're passing up the great, universal game of soccer for _tennis_?"

"Well, I never got into soccer. And I'm not really a fan of hockey." Nick admitted, jogging a little to keep up with the older boy's strides.

Dylan snorted. "Don't let the Ducks hear that. They eat, live, and breathe the sport. They might kick you out."

"Yeah, they might. But it's okay. Carmen will bring me back." Nick said, blind faith shining in his bright blue eyes.

* * *

**Welcome, Adam N. Banks!**

**You have 17 new messages.**

**From: Time: Subject:**

_**L. Averman**_** 4:32 PM** penis.

_**G. Goldberg**_ **4:34 PM **Penis.

_**L. Averman**_ **4:35 PM** PEnis.

_**G. Goldberg**_ **4:38 PM** PENis

_**C. Moreau**_ **4:44 PM** PENIs

_**L. Averman **_ **4:47 PM** Connie, you're not invited!

_**G. Goldberg **_ **4:49 PM **I quit, Connie always wins.

_**L. Averman**_ **4:50 PM** PENIS!

_**C. Moreau **_ **4:56 PM **PENIS!!

_**D. Porter**_ **5:01 PM** Your Latin Midterm Grade

_**L. Averman**_** 5:02 PM** PENIS!!

_**C. Moreau **_**5:05 PM PENIS!!**

_**L. Averman**_** 5:06 PM**_** PENIS!!**_

_**Ang. Banks **_**5:10 PM** Come home.

_**C. Moreau **_**5:12 PM**_**VAGINA!!**_

_**L. Averman**_**5:17 PM **You go right to Hell, Moreau.

_**C. Rivera**_** 6:49 PM** Sex sells.

* * *

Adam resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the display of childish behavior that was his inbox and deleted all of them. Honestly. The Penis game was _so_ vulgar.

He paused on the last email from Carmen. Sex sells? What the hell…

* * *

**To: **A. Banks

**From: **C. Rivera

**Date/Time: **April 7th, 2007 6:49 PM

**Subject:** Sex sells.

Banks. It's prom season at the Harmon School and Ibsen Prep.

They're all girls and they need dates.

Hence I need your body to sell off to a bunch of randy rich girls.

I'll let you know when, where, and to whom later on.

Thanks, Carmen.

* * *

"You alright there, cake eater?" Charlie asked, walking into his bedroom.

His roommate was too busy sputtering in front of his computer screen to answer.

* * *

"An auction?"

"Yes."

"An auction where you want to sell my boys to the general public to do God knows what."

"Yes."

"That's rather…well…"

"Tacky?" Josh Landon supplied helpfully.

"Well…for a lack of a better word, yes." Dean Buckley admitted, staring at a complacent Carmen.

True to form, she didn't even blink. "Is that all?"

"No!" Josh snapped. "That's ridiculous! Who's going to buy teenage boys?"

"All sorts of people." Carmen answered vaguely as she slipped a folder out of her bag and handed it to Dean Buckley. "Those are the people who we're looking to auction off. Most of them have already agreed to participate."

"Twenty eight, I see. Very…accomplished men." The dean murmured as he scanned the list.

Carmen nodded. "The cream of the crop. It's actually an honor for them to be chosen. They've been carefully selected to ensure…quality, so to speak."

"Sir, you can't be seriously considering this proposal! Think of our reputation!" Josh said incredulously, running his fingers through his hair.

"He's not on the list." Carmen stated dryly to the dean, as if that explained everything.

"Now, now." Dean Buckley hastily interjected, as the tension in the room had suddenly increased a couple notches. "Carmen, I do have some reservations about this-"

"Sir!" Carmen snapped, a rare note of complaint entering her voice. "It's a _charity auction_! Eden Hall has a number of young men who are undoubtedly going to excel in their careers! I can practically _guarantee_ that this won't be their last auction!" She stopped here and took a breath. She tried again in a more reassuring voice. "I've done my research. Yes, it is rather tacky. But among the young girls of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, Eden Hall is rumored to house the most attractive men. Combined with a good cause and the fact that numerous formals are scheduled to be held in the next few weeks, not to mention we're inviting _really, really_ rich people, I'm confident that we can make some money."

Dean Buckley sighed. "And you would be in charge of this?"

She shrugged before gesturing to a sullen Josh Landon. "I prefer to work behind closed doors. I'm sure Landon is more than capable of being an emcee."

"Very well then." The dean said, closing the folder in front of him decisively. He resolutely ignored the choked sound that ensued from the blond boy sitting next to him. "I give my consent."

Carmen lifted an eyebrow dryly. "I thought you would say that." She then proceeded to hand him another folder. "I've already taken the liberty of drawing up a not so tentative schedule of the evening, including location, food and guest list."

* * *

Noah Colbert pursed his lips as he evaluated the much younger man in front of him. "I'm an old man, Gordon. I don't know if I have the energy for this."

Gordon Bombay chuckled. "Noah, the day you lose energy will be a sad day for mankind. Now what do you say? Team USA needs you. America needs you."

"Oh, don't feed me that trollop." Coach Colbert sniffed amusedly.

Bombay grinned boyishly. "Sorry, that's what they tell us to say."

"Indeed." The coach murmured absently before gazing out the window speculatively. "I've never been to Australia. And Bonnie won't hold me responsible for the yard work if we're on the other side of the world…"

"Not to mention, the chances of the Ducks getting into trouble would be slightly less likely if they had a coach they respected watching them." Bombay added.

"You're acting like they're a disaster waiting to happen." The old man objected. "They're a good bunch of kids."

"They're an amazing bunch of kids. But they like their fun. They _really_ like their fun." Bombay grinned, leaning back in his chair. "Trouble just follows them around. However, now that the Junior Goodwill Games has given me an administrative position, they'll need someone else to bail them out of trouble. So what do you say, Coach?"

Coach Colbert sighed good naturedly. "I suppose."

"Great! This will be huge for Eden Hall's athletics. I've already contacted a couple of soccer players, a swimmer and a track star at this school alone. Now all I've got to do is tell the Ducks."

"You mean they still don't know?"

Bombay scratched his head. "I'm actually not sure. I left a message with Connie's roommate a while ago but she seemed half asleep when she answered. I don't know if she even understood what I was saying."

* * *

"Hey, dickbag. Wait up."

Dylan turned around. His handsome face broke into a grin at the sight of the slightly taller boy and he agreeably stopped. "Why, Captain Riley…is this your not so subtle hint that we should shower together?"

His newly appointed C gleaming on his jersey, Jake Riley pushed his dark, sweaty hair back from his face. "I hate you."

"No, you don't." Dylan said as the two walked back to the locker rooms. Both were sweaty and dirty after a grueling practice and neither of them really had the energy to come up with more stinging comebacks. "Did you get Rivera's memo?"

"About that stupid auction?"

"Yeah."

"Are you doing that shit?" Jake asked, tugging his shirt off. "It sounds pretty sketchy to me."

"Oh it is. It definitely is." The blond replied, also throwing his uniform in the hamper. "But I'm still going to do it. And you better be up there with me. Think of all the money we could bring. And to tell you the truth, we really need that money."

Jake sighed as he wrapped a towel around his slim hips. "I hate doing charity work. It's annoying and I never get ass."

Dylan raised an eyebrow and stretched his back. The light of the locker room glinted off the silver dog tags that hung on his muscular chest. "Your life must be _so_ hard." He drawled, walking towards the showers.

"Don't patronize me." The dark haired boy grumbled as he followed. "Oh, dude! I almost forgot! You know the Junior Goodwill Games?"

"Yeah, they're being held in Sydney this year, what about them?"

"We've been invited to play."

For a brief time, there was only the sound of running water before Dylan spoke. "W-what?"

"Yeah. They want us to play. Starting positions! You and me, man! Team USA!" Jake called out, unable to stop the happy grin that threatened to split his face.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Dylan started to laugh. "Dude, if it wasn't for the fact that we're both naked, wet and soapy, I'd totally give you a hug."

"Man, think about it! Soccer all day, girls all night, we've got this shit down to an art!"

"I know-fuck, I'm late." Dylan cursed as his cell phone started to beep. He hastily wrapped a towel around his waist and rubbed his wet hair with another.

"For what?"

"Dance."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Dude, when the hell are you going to give that up?"

"Don't start." The blond stated exasperatedly as he started to pull on his clothes.

"I know you don't even like it anymore so what's the point of continuing with it?" The dark haired boy continued, not listening to his best friend's plea. "Is this going to happen next year? Dude, we finally have a chance at making it to nationals and I need you to be completely devoted to soccer, not prancing around in a tutu!"

"Riley-"

"Newsflash, twinkletoes! Right now, you're half-assing both! You've been skipping out of practice early yet you're still late to rehearsal. You're not that crazy Russian lady's-"

"She's Ukrainian actually."

"You shut your mouth when you're talking to me! You're not her favorite anymore! Maddie's told me everything. Is it because of Maddie? Is that why you're staying?"

Dylan bent to tie his shoelaces. Straightening, he looked at Jake. "Partly, yes."

"Well, she'll understand! She loves you, man. You're like a god in her eyes and no matter what you do, she'll understand. And if she realizes you're not into dance anymore, she'll be fine with letting you go. She doesn't deserve a half assed partner…and neither do I." Jake finished quietly.

The blond grabbed his bag and stood quietly for a second. "I'll think about it."

* * *

"Coach!"

Gordon Bombay let out an "Oof!" of pain as he was suddenly tackled by a significant amount of teenaged hockey players.

"Coach, what are you doing here?"

"What's with the beard?"

"Nice tweed suit, you look like an older version of Banks."

"Hey!"

"Now really, Banks, this doesn't concern you."

"Coach!"

"Why the hell did you leave California for this crappy weather?"

"Seriously, Coach, what's with the beard?"

Noah Colbert just smiled and leaned back on the bleachers as he watched the young man be besieged with questions. Oh the joys of love.

"Okay, okay!" Bombay held up his hands for quiet. "Will you let me talk?"

"You never had to ask us to let you talk before." Charlie snickered as he ducked a playful blow Bombay aimed in his direction.

"I'm here to extend to you guys an invitation…" Bombay paused dramatically.

Connie checked her watch. "Coach, not that I'm not happy to see you but I have to get to class in five minutes so if you could hurry it up, that'd be great."

Averman leaned over to whisper in his coach's ear. "The girls have turned into man-eaters. Guard yourself."

"I see." Bombay said, wrinkling his brow. "Well, in that case. Who's up for the Junior Goodwill Games Round 2?"

There was a stunned silence before everyone started talking at once.

"Hold up, guys!" Bombay grinned, holding his hands up so the clamor that surrounded him died down a little bit. "I take it that everyone's agreed to go?"

The noise of general assent was practically deafening.

"Good. It's being held in Sydney this year-"

"Sydney, Australia?"

"Holy shit!"

"Yes, yes." Their former coach nodded before pointing to their new coach. "Coach Colbert has kindly consented to be your coach at the Games. You will arrive on July 1st and stay until mid-August. The games start at the beginning of July. Here are some forms you have to fill out…"

Guy had on a dreamy expression on his face. "Australia…land of beaches and bikinis and summer. Ken, this is going to be perfect."

Ken frowned at him. "Guy…Australia's on the other side of the world."

"What's your point?"

The other boy sighed. "Their seasons are switched around with us. It's going to be winter when we get there."

"…"

"Sorry."

"My life is shit."

* * *

"Carmen?"

The girl looked up to see Gordon Bombay standing in front of her. "Sir!" She exclaimed, rising to her feet.

"No, no, please sit down." The man smiled, sitting down in the chair in front of her. "I don't have a lot of time anyway."

"What can I do for you?" She asked, closing her notebook.

"I'm here to extend invitations to several athletes for the Junior Goodwill Games." He answered. "The Ducks are among those asked to participate."

"That's amazing. They definitely deserve it." What did that have to do with her?

"I wanted to know what _your _plans for the summer were."

Carmen blinked. "Me?"

"Yes."

"Well…I've been offered internships at the White House and the International Monetary Fund, actually. But I'm thinking of staying here…at Eden Hall. I'm sure Dean Buckley can find some use for me." She didn't mention that the reason she was thinking of staying had to do with a seven year old orphan.

"Hmmm. The reason I'm asking is to offer you a position as my personal assistant this summer." Bombay smiled at her kindly. "After seeing your work on Wilson, I think that you are more than capable for the job and all the Ducks were extremely enthusiastic about the idea. I'm going to need all the help I can get this summer and a person with your organizational skills is a definite asset. You'll be paid of course. Quite a tidy sum, I might add. Not to mention, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

She stared at him. If she had been a lesser person, she would have gaped but she was Carmen Rivera. And Riveras never gaped. "Sir…I don't know what to say."

"A yes would suffice." Bombay chuckled before seeing the doubt on her face. "Connie mentioned that you might feel a bit uneasy about the whole thing. That it had to do with a little boy that you've taken into your care. The reason you were thinking about staying behind."

Carmen stared down into her hands and nodded. It was true.

"Julie said that you've been teaching him tennis."

"Yes. He's very enthusiastic. And he's been picking it up rather quickly."

"The tennis division does need ball boys." The Miracle man mentioned almost absently. "And you'd have an apartment to yourself. Plenty of room for a seven year old boy. I suppose that might not help the situation?"

"That-that-" Carmen started before she stopped. What was there to say? "Thank you." She said softly, her voice betraying her emotions. "And if that's the case…I accept."

Bombay beamed at her. "Here's the necessary paperwork, Miss Rivera. And as for the boy, I'll take care of everything. You just be ready to deal with stuck up athletes, rabid coaches and the press."

* * *

Julie almost absently cut up Nick's chicken parmesan for him as she perused an article in her notebook. Silently cursing the person who had written it, she crossed out several dangling modifiers before she gave up. "Nick, when we go back to the suite, we're teaching you some proper grammar." She groused, in a slightly sullen mood.

To his credit, Nick didn't even bat an eye as he attacked his food with a vigor that could only come from a little boy. "Yes'm." He mumbled, giving a wave to several students. Being a rather adorable little fellow, he had quickly ingratiated himself into the hearts of the student body. Dylan had practically beamed with pride when he found out.

"Christ, Nick. It's still going to be there. And if it's not, I can always get you more." Julie smiled at the child, her hand reaching forward to give him a napkin.

"Relax, Jules. He's a growing boy." A new voice cut in and the two looked up to see Goldberg and Averman join them. "And speaking of food, we need your help."

"Mmm?" The blonde mumbled, packing away her papers.

"We want to enter Goldberg in a hot dog eating contest."

"That's nice." She murmured distractedly before realizing what he had said. "What?"

Averman shrugged as Goldberg nodded sagely next to him. "It's a shoo-in! The annual hot dog eating contest! Goldie would demolish them! The prize is two hundred dollars! Money for the orphanage!"

Julie stared at them with her mouth open before abruptly closing it. "Absolutely not!"

It was their turn to look surprised. "Why not!" Goldberg huffed, looking extremely put out. "I'm the one that will be doing all the work! We just need you to get us in!"

"Me?"

"Yeah, it's closed to the public. But since the newspaper is covering the event, you can pull a few strings and get us in! We checked it out!"

"No!"

"Aren't eating contests really dangerous?" Nick piped up. "And wouldn't you be wasting money if you ended up in the hospital, getting your stomach pumped?"

Averman and Goldberg stared at the little boy with something akin to horror. "That's just scary. It's like a mini-Banks in the making." Averman breathed.

"What's wrong with Ad-" Nick started to object before he was cut off by Goldberg.

"Alright, listen, kid. There's hope for you yet. The next time Banks tells you something, nod your head and then immediately erase it from your mind." Goldberg shuddered. "Dear God, he's trying to give you a wholesome upbringing. It's sickening."

"Oh honestly!" Julie snapped, rolling her eyes. "Leave him alone. I dare say it might be a good thing to have another Banks in the world. And fine. I'll get you in. Don't come crawling back to us when you're about to vomit hot dogs for the next month though. It'll serve you right."

Goldberg beamed. "Why, Jules. What a thing to suggest."

* * *

Three days later, an extremely green Goldberg staggered into Suite 301, supported by a panting Averman. Stopping in front of a surprised looking Carmen, he shoved a check of two hundred dollars into her hands and left for the hallway.

Where he promptly became extremely, violently sick. Much to a large Rottweiler's disgust.

* * *

"Yo, where's my Asian-" Dylan abruptly stopped and stared at the mess that was the girls' sitting room. "What the hell is going on?"

Connie looked up at him. "Maddie's trying to get her stuff together for Thursday and apparently she can't find anything so…" She gestured towards the chaos.

"Thursday…where's she going Thursday?" The blond demanded, looking extremely affronted. Since when had he _not_ known what was going on in her life?

"The robotics competition." Maddie said, walking out of her bedroom with a huge load of laundry. "I'm leaving Thursday for St. Paul. Don't worry. I'll be back Sunday night."

"I'm doing whites. I'll take those." Ken Wu offered, pointing to the load in her arms. Maddie flashed him a grateful smile and shoved it into his arms before turning to look at her best friend. "Dylan?"

The blond seemed to regain his speech capabilities and stared at her indignantly. "No!"

"This should be good." Charlie Conway muttered wickedly to a grinning Fulton.

"I beg your pardon?" Maddie looked startled. "What do you mean, no?"

"I mean no when I mean no!" Dylan snapped, looking extremely agitated and for some reason, worried. "You're going to miss the auction!"

"Well, yes. But I'm not in it so what's the point of me being there-"

"Moral support!" The soccer player cried, pushing his hair out of his eyes savagely. "And besides, I don't want you to hang out with the Robotics Team! They're all snakes! Dirty, two faced, venomous snakes!"

"Dylan!" Connie admonished, looking up from her homework.

"They are!" He insisted, whirling back around to face a rather upset looking Maddie. "They'll rip you apart! I don't want you near them! The fucking nerdy asswipes-"

"Professor Baker introduced me to some of them!" Maddie argued, her hands starting to tremble. Dylan _never_ yelled at her. "They're perfectly nice! And the captain was really interested in me! And she's not nerdy! She's gorgeous and she offered to room with me!"

Dylan paled in fury. "The captain…offered to room…oh, you're definitely not going! Not with that crazy bitch around!"

Russ entered the room at that comment. Raising an eyebrow, he joined Charlie and Fulton at the couch. "Who's the crazy bitch?"

"Shhh! It's just getting good!" Charlie scolded, his eyes glued to the scene in front of him.

"Are we even talking about the same person?"

"Andrea Howell? Senior, is gonna be valedictorian, accepted early to the California Institute of Technology. Five foot six, curly brown hair, blue eyes, overall extremely good looking. Too bad she's a _crazy bitch_!" He all but howled. "You're not going near her! She's not looking to be nice to you, she wants something and the whole damn school knows how close you are to me!"

There was a silence as the whole suite realized the exact reason why Dylan didn't want Maddie to go. She stared at him evenly. "What did you do?" She asked flatly.

"I was a freshman!" He defended. "I was young and impressionable! She came onto me! She was supposed to know better, she _is_ older than me!"

Russ shook his head admiringly. "Jesus Christ, Dylan, your hormones are out of control."

But Maddie knew Dylan. And she knew he wasn't telling her everything. "So you hooked up with her."

"Well…yeah."

"And?"

"And what?"

"_And_?"

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Then I got with her sister."

Maddie's incensed cry of "Dylan!" was drowned out by the raucous laughter and catcalls that erupted from the couch. The three boys shook with suppressed hilarity and didn't even quail at the nasty looks that the other members of the room were sending them.

"Listen, Maddie, she hates me. Okay? She hates me like poison. And she's going to hurt me by hurting you." He stated quietly. "You're not going. Andrea is not someone you want to mess with. She's fucking _insane_. She saw a psychiatrist for some time. She's not stable. The whole Robotics team isn't! You don't understand!"

"And what if you're wrong!" Maddie yelled suddenly, looking beyond upset. "What if she recognizes me as a potential? I went to a meeting, Dylan! They understood what I was talking about! They're nothing like what you describe! They practically welcomed me with open arms!"

"That's only because Professor Baker was there!" Dylan yelled right back at her. "The minute he's gone, they're going to turn on you! Why do you think they have no other friends at school? Because they don't accept anyone! It's like a fucking cult! They don't _need _anyone! They feed off of each other!"

"No! You're being ridiculous!"

"Open your damn eyes, Maddie! You're so fucking naïve sometimes! Grow up and have a clue!" Even before the words were out of his mouth, he knew that they were a mistake.

She stared at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. And without a word, she turned and went into her bedroom.

Connie stared at the blond in concern as he suddenly looked extremely dangerous. Muttering a string of expletives under his breath, he stormed out of the suite.

* * *

Carmen awoke with a gasp, as she sat straight up on the couch. Breathing heavily, she lifted a trembling hand to push back her sweat damp hair.

"So how long have you been having these nightmares?"

She jerked her head around to see Dylan Howard staring at her, his grey eyes narrowed. Willing her heart beat to relax, she glared at him. "Do you always watch people sleep?"

"Don't change the topic." He scowled, shifting in his armchair. "How long have you been having these nightmares?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about the thrashing around and whimpering you were doing. Oh and you can throw in the heavy breathing and sweat too."

She inwardly winced. Was it that noticeable? Thank God she wasn't sleeping next to Julie anymore. "It's just stress." She muttered grudgingly.

"You should sleep in a bed." Dylan said quietly after a brief pause.

"Nick's sleeping in it."

"He can sleep in mine."

"No." Carmen said tiredly. "He can't sleep anywhere else. He can't fall asleep."

There was another silence as Dylan just looked at her. His gaze wasn't his usual lovesick stare but more searching and unreadable. "Why are you pushing this orphanage thing so much? Is it for him that you're working so hard?"

Carmen reached for her cup. She took a sip before answering. "Partly. But mostly because I've realized…if I don't, who will?" She missed the look on his face when she said that. It was perhaps a good thing that she did or she would have undoubtedly questioned it. For it was a look of stark realization and lost hope. A regular slap in the face in the name of reality for an idealist soul.

But she had been looking into her cup and so missed that flash of meaning. So she continued on as if nothing had changed. "Why are you here anyway? It's three in the morning."

Dylan shook himself, as if coming out of a daze. "Maddie. Tell her she can't go."

"Oh. That."

"She'll listen to you!" The soccer player snapped, looking extremely agitated. "You know just as well as I do that that whole group is warped! And you know that Andrea Howell actually does need psychiatric help."

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't! You open your mouth, words come out!"

"Howard…" Carmen said softly, not looking at him. "Maddie needs to live her own life. Everything you said is true, yes. Every inch of me is screaming not to send her there. But we're not going to be able to protect her for the rest of her life. She needs to be able to experience stuff for herself. That's why I can't forbid her from going."

Dylan stared at her. "What are you saying? That this is a _learning experience_?"

"She's growing up. Just think of it as puberty."

He clenched his hands. There was a brief pause before he grunted sourly. "She picked a hell of a time to do it."

* * *

On Tuesday afternoon, Madison Lola Kim came back from the salon with a brand new haircut. Her hair having finally been released from its usual bun, it fell halfway down her back in a straight, glossy curtain of ebony. Most surprising of all, the stylist had cut blunt bangs that dramatically fell to her eyebrows.

Dubbed very "mod", the haircut suited her perfectly. It was edgy and urban and fit Maddie's unique style. Everyone complimented her on it. Except a certain blond whose grey eyes had gone even flintier when he saw what she had done.

On Wednesday afternoon, Dylan Thomas Howard withdrew from the Ballet department. He cleaned out his cubby while the other dancers tried not to stare at him. Madame Baryshkev watched him leave, with fury clearly apparent in her stance. It was no match for the hurt and anger swimming in a pair of brown eyes that resolutely stared at the floor.

* * *

"Carmen, get away from that pole."

She turned to look at Charlie in surprise. "Why?" She asked, moving off of it.

"Because that's what I would tell my daughter." Charlie grinned, adjusting his dinner jacket. "Well, I'm off to my fate. Later, gorgeous." He winked cheekily, as he moved onto the stage where the auction was going full swing.

Carmen let a small smile slip out as she watched the captain grin his way towards a hundred dollars. She turned and surveyed the backstage area with a critical eye. Only five boys had gone up and already they had made seven hundred and ninety three dollars. _They better keep this up_, she thought before a slight scowl creased her beautiful face. _Or else_.

* * *

It had all been going fairly well.

Andrea, the Robotics team captain had taken her under her wing and introduced her to the other members with a smile. They had made her feel welcome and gave her no reason to suspect them of ulterior motives. Dylan had just been selfish and paranoid.

Then it happened. On Friday, while they had been discussing various ways of powering their robot, Maddie had offered an ingenious method involving a different type of wiring. No one had thought of it and perhaps it was because Maddie was so new, that they were reluctant to try it.

They had looked to Andrea for her opinion and with a rather ugly expression on her face, she had snapped "Maybe for amateurs." Then she offered her own suggestion and the team immediately applied it, to Maddie's shock. Andrea gave her a condescending glance and had shrugged. "It's alright, dear. You're new. And it's not that it wouldn't have worked. It just wouldn't have been as good."

And after that, it had not stopped. Perhaps empowered by their captain's late blooming animosity, many of the senior members threw carefully veiled insults at her, ranging from the company of the Ducks that she kept to her new haircut to the clothes that she wore. The younger ones questioned her with amused indifference about her dancing, acting as though it was a frivolous pastime that only those without brains participated in.

Maddie had been too shocked to say much. She felt like she was some sort of new exhibit at a freak show as Andrea always saved her a place next to her at mealtimes and promptly proceeded to grill her about her life. She couldn't help but wonder if this is what the rest of the school thought of her and her friends.

And yet the contempt the Robotics team held for the Ducks was nothing to the hatred they held for a certain blond soccer player in her life. The minute Dylan's name had left her mouth, she knew she was done for.

She had listened in silent fury as they blasted the blond as a rich snob with no feelings for anyone. They described him as a hedonist, a misbegotten spawn of Satan who didn't deserve anything he received. She had quietly excused herself when they started tittering about how he probably had every single STD to roam this planet.

"Are you alright?" Maddie looked up from her bed to see the curly haired captain staring at her.

"He's not." She burst out, her eyes filling with angry tears. "None of them are like that. Especially Dylan. You don't even know him! A hedonist? He's only just turned seventeen! What do you expect, he's a teenage boy!"

Andrea smiled cagily. "Ah, yes. The best friend. The one who isn't speaking to you right now?"

That had shut Maddie up. Wrenching her eyes away from Andrea's penetrating gaze, the dancer stood and left the room.

On Saturday, their robot refused to work. Spurred by Professor Baker's anxious questions, Andrea suggested a "new" method of wiring. Maddie's method of wiring. The Korean girl practically gaped at the scene, where Professor Baker congratulated a smug looking Andrea about her brilliant suggestion. The other members of the team gave no inclination of the fact that Andrea had essentially, copped her idea.

At that moment, Maddie lost a bit of her faith in the world.

* * *

"Thank you. Here's your date's card. All the information is on it. Enjoy." Connie smiled sweetly as she handed the girl a card. She had been working at the payment table for the past hour and she had just gotten more amused with time. She smoothed the front of her burgundy cocktail dress and signaling to the head lady, took her leave.

She picked up two champagne flutes discreetly and made her way to a curvy figure standing in the shadows. Carmen had dressed for the occasion in her favorite form fitting black silk dress. Her golden hair done up in an elegant knot, she looked beautiful. "I figured you might want a drink."

The blonde turned to Connie with a smile and gratefully accepted the flute. "Thanks. This is going better than I thought."

"Yeah, especially since you included the country club. You should've seen the outrage on those poor girls' faces when fifty year old women started bidding on their men. Better yet, you should've seen the look on Luis' face when one bought him." Connie snickered.

"Cheers to their ever young libido." Carmen smirked, holding her flute up. The glasses clinked and they both finished the champagne quickly. "Have you seen Howard? Or Jake Riley?"

"No, I haven't. Gone missing, have they?"

Carmen grunted before she was distracted by a little figure. "Sweetie, you're going to get cat hair all over your suit."

Nick ambled over, smartly clad in a tuxedo and holding the Ball in his arms. "I'll clean it." He promised a little sleepily. "There're a lot of girls in the room. They're really loud."

"I think it's bed time for you." Connie smiled softly as the little boy yawned.

"I'm not tired." He protested, his eyelids drooping anyway. "I can stay awake."

"I'm sure you can." Carmen murmured as she bent over to pick him up. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."

"You're awfully pretty, Carmen." He mumbled as his eyes drifted shut.

The corner of her mouth lifted. "I'm glad you think so." She then turned to Connie. "Could you keep an eye on things here? I'll just run over and put him down."

The other girl nodded and stood aside with a soft smile as she watched the little boy snuggle into Carmen's arms. Who knew Carmen could take care of kids?

"How precious." A smooth voice sneered behind her. "Two outcasts found each other."

The smile sliding from her face, Connie turned around to face Jake Riley. Damn if the idiot had to be so tall. Arrogance drooped from his every feature as he smugly adjusted his cufflinks. Resolving not to stoop to his despicable level, she threw him a disgusted glance and moved to walk away.

"Nice dress, Moreau." He said, his voice low with malicious intent. "Trying to see if anyone else will have you? Just to let you know…this isn't really the place for that kind of buying. Try the street corner."

"Funny." She smiled at him coldly. "Your brother had no problems with this dress."

He stared at her for a second, his dark eyes clouding with anger. "My brother always did go for the whorish ones."

"You can't help genetics, Riley." A new voice interrupted with equal coldness. He turned to see Adam Banks staring at him with icy fury. "Get stepping. We wouldn't want to cause a scene now, would we?"

Jake smirked at him. "Well…looks like the little bitty Banks is showing some spine. Is it some sort of Miracle-Gro thing? Because it…Well, excuse me, Duckies. I believe I'm being called." He said mockingly as he heard his name being called from backstage. "Until later…"

Connie sighed with irritation. "You didn't have to get involved."

"Shut up. Can't you stay out of trouble for one night?" Adam snapped before looking at her peevishly. It was obvious that he was in a right old snit. "And I completely agree with him about that dress. That's the last time I let Averman pick out what you should wear. It's bad enough I have a homicidal Dylan, a suicidal Luis, and an insane ex-girlfriend on my hands. Now you're going around, just asking for trouble. You might as well be a high end prostitute." He huffed, before storming away.

"Dear God. Please get Adam Banks laid. Fast and hard. Perhaps then the stick from his ass shall be dislodged. Amen." Connie muttered sourly as she caught her reflection in the window. There was nothing wrong with this dress. Sure it was a little tight…and a little low cut. But so was everyone else's!

Connie let out a growl. _Men_.

* * *

"Next up." Josh Landon smiled at the assembled audience and took a look at his card. His smile faltered and he raised an eyebrow wryly. "Dylan Thomas Howard, junior."

The blond stalked onto the stage, missing his dinner jacket and with his tie undone. The sleeves of his white dress shirt rolled up and his longish hair tousled, he shoved his hands into his pockets and gazed out at the mass of people with stormy grey eyes. Landon had to admit that the kid knew how to work the crowd.

"This five foot eleven...and a half...Aries is the star forward for Eden Hall's soccer team. He's also been invited to play as the starting forward for Team USA at this summer's Junior Goodwill Games held in Sydney. Until recently, he's also been a principle dancer in the Dance department and maintains a 3.7 GPA. You may have also heard him on the Twin Cities club scene as several of his mixes have been circulating for the past year. He enjoys chocolate chip pancakes, saving orphans from burning buildings and curvy women…what the hell?" The boy muttered, staring at his card. Shaking his head, he continued. "We'll start the bidding at…five bucks." Josh finished dryly, lowering the minimum bid about forty five dollars.

Dylan glared at him mutinously, his temper just waiting to blow. He then caught the eyes of Rivera who glared at him in turn, sending him a silent warning. With a barely suppressed growl, he shifted his gaze back to the melee that was happening in front of him. _Now this is more like it_, he thought with a smirk as bids were flying left and right.

_Time to up the game a bit_, his smirk widened as he took a step forward, throwing a condescending wink to a wary looking Josh Landon.

* * *

"He's such an embarrassment." Jonathan Howard remarked as he saw his son strip off his shirt and fling it into the wild crowd. He took a sip of his wine and watched as his son bared his muscular chest.

"Really?" Charlotte Howard smiled as she leaned into her husband's side. "I think he's your carbon copy."

Jon Howard grunted as he grumpily saw the bidding rise to five hundred dollars. "The impudent little brat. This is just going to inflate his already insufferable ego. I told you we should've drowned him and made more."

"Jon!" She laughed as she turned to kiss him on the cheek. "If you don't mind, I'd like to bid on him."

"What on Earth for?" Her husband demanded, his grey eyes the same shade as his son's. "You're smart enough to realize he's not worth that much money."

"Oh hush! It's not like we don't have the money to spare." Charlotte scolded before raising her card. "One thousand dollars!"

All conversation stopped as they turned to look at who had spent that much on the blond boy. Dylan found himself staring at the beautiful face of his mother. "_Mom?!_"

"Hello!" She waved merrily. "I figure this is the only way we're going to get you to do yard work. And there's _ever_ so much to do…starting with cleaning the gutters. You're going to earn this money, dear."

The hysterical fit of laughter that was coming from Dylan's father was nothing compared to the silent convulsions that Carmen Rivera was going through.

* * *

"And the final bid for this evening…Mr. Adam Nathaniel Banks, junior."

Adam stepped onto the stage, his hand unknowingly going to loosen his collar. He blinked as the bright lights hit him. Trying to concentrate as Josh Landon rattled off his accomplishments, he took a glance around.

Was it really packed with hungry looking women or was it just him?

So caught up in his own musings, he almost missed the start of the biddings. Jesus Christ. Was that all for him? He wasn't that great…

"Woooo, yeah Banks!"

"Work it, baby!"

"Take it off, take it off!"

"Growl for me, you sexy tiger, you!"

"Come on, let's see that chest!"

Adam set his jaw as he turned his attentions to the rowdy group at one of the tables. Most of the Ducks whistled even harder now that they knew they had his attention. Vowing dire retribution, he turned back to the crowd only to be interrupted by a hiss.

"Banks!" He saw Carmen standing a little bit away. "Smile! You look like a constipated jackass!"

He immediately gave an awkward smile and saw Carmen survey the crowd with a satisfied gleam in her golden eyes. _Bloody harpy, it's all good and done for her_, he thought bitterly, feeling a bit used.

"Five hundred."

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

This couldn't be happening.

Adam stared in horror at the tall, slim figure that had stood up. Her blonde hair glinted in the light as she stared directly at him with familiar blue eyes.

Whispers broke out amongst the auditorium as Emily Parker calmly stood. Josh Landon seemed to also have lost his power of speech as he stared at his girlfriend who paid no attention to him but kept her eyes focused on the hockey player.

"Five hundred fifty!" Another girl had stood up. Jewels fairly dripped from her throat and anyone could see that they were real.

"Six hundred." Emily countered.

"Six hundred twenty."

"Six hundred fifty."

Adam turned his head in horror to a riveted looking Carmen. "Rivera, do something! You can't let her buy me!" He pleaded, looking down at the smaller girl.

"Shut up, Banks." She answered absently, still hanging onto every sum that was being offered. "You're making me a lot of money right now."

"Six hundred seventy."

"Why don't I just say seven hundred." Emily said icily.

The other girl sullenly sat down. Unfortunately, Josh didn't seem to find it in him to say that Banks was sold. Seeing your "girlfriend" blow seven hundred dollars on her ex could do that to a guy. So Carmen did it for him.

"Sold!" She cried, clambering up on stage. "Thank you for coming, everyone! Have a great night!"

Adam savagely yanked at his collar, spewing curses that had never before been seen from his person.

* * *

To say that they were a sullen group that night would be an understatement.

They all crowded into Charlie's sitting room, figuring the girls wouldn't understand. They were right. The girls seemed to find their situation _funny_.

"Fifty-seven. She's fifty-seven." Luis moaned, sinking his head into his hands.

"At least she's not crazy!" Adam snapped.

"She's fifty seven and she's bidding on a seventeen year old! How is that not crazy?!"

"At least you didn't sleep with her. Banks did it with Emily Parker…" Fulton then smiled wickedly. "Twice."

"Why the hell would she blow seven hundred on me?" The center ranted.

"Maybe she misses you." Goldberg offered, hiding a smirk.

Adam scoffed. "Yeah, then why doesn't she just talk to me?"

"That's so not what I meant." Goldberg snickered, waggling his eyebrows at the taller boy obscenely. "Maybe she misses Banks, Jr."

Adam turned red and looked about ready to tackle him when a satisfied sigh distracted him. He turned to see Charlie staring into space happily. The douchebag had gotten a reasonable buy of three hundred and forty six dollars. What wasn't so reasonable was the fact that he had been bought by a French exchange student with legs that stretched for days.

Bastard.

"Shut up, Conway." Dylan scowled, echoing his sentiments as he stared out the window.

The captain just shrugged with a goofy smile on his face. "Not my fault you guys got stuck with hags while I got…Laurine."

Just then, Averman walked in with a frown. "Hey, my computer's bugging out. Can anyone fix it?"

"Call Maddie." Fulton suggested, before realizing that the girl was a sore subject. True enough, the steely grey eyes grew even flintier and Dylan's fists clenched.

"I guess I should." The redhead sighed, pulling out his phone. "It keeps on doing this and I don't get why!"

"Stop watching porn then, Aves." Luis said sourly, still sunk in despair.

Averman threw him an indignant glance before turning back to his phone. "Hey, Maddie cakes! What's…Maddie? Maddie, what's wrong? Shhh. It's okay. Just calm down."

The other people in the room immediately focused in on the redhead. "Shhh, stop crying. Tell Uncle Aves what's wrong. It doesn't sound like nothing. Come on, get a drink of water. Shhh. Maddie-Maddie, no! Don't-" He stared at his phone perplexedly. "She hung up on me! She said that someone was coming and she hung up on me!"

"That's it." Dylan swung his legs down from his perch on the window ledge. Without another word, he stalked into his bedroom and grabbing his coat and car keys, he tore out of the suite, fury emanating from his pores.

"Why do I get the feeling he's going to do something really, really stupid?" Charlie asked no one in particular.

* * *

"He said I was his fucking ideal. That he couldn't go after me because he didn't deserve me!" Julie ranted as she walked around in her lingerie.

Connie and Carmen watched her passively. They had cornered her when they had gotten back from the auction, determined to get to the bottom of this whole Portman deal. When they had finally gotten her to spill, spill she did. The girl was a walking, talking mess. Which explained why she was walking around in her underwear.

"I'm not really surprised, Jules." Connie interrupted the other girl's tirade. "Why do you think he kept on trying to pick fights with Banks?"

"Because he's Portman?" Julie huffed, still walking around in her underwear.

"The better question is…how do _you_ feel about him?" Carmen asked smoothly.

The goalie stopped her pacing to stare at the other two girls. "To tell you the truth…I don't know. I mean, I never even had a clue he felt that way! I don't know if I feel anything about him but…even if I did…he's been pretty clear on how he feels about this issue." Two big tears welled up in her eyes. "Why do I scare all the potential interests away?"

"Oh, sweetie." Connie murmured, patting the seat next to her. Obediently, the bigger girl came over and laid her head on her lap, tears slowly making their way down her face. Carmen brought a box of tissues over and gently covered her with a blanket.

"I-I'm c-cursed!" The poor girl sobbed. "I screw up relationships! I'm my own home wrecker!"

Connie tried to calm her down. "Banks and you were pretty smooth-"

"Banks is a little girl!" Julie wailed miserably. "He doesn't count! He never fought with me! I wanted to fight! That's what a relationship is about!"

Rotten Willy the Rottweiler smothered a snort at that. Humans. What idiotic creatures.

* * *

The receptionist was extremely tired. Damn these nerdy robotics kids! Thank God she had been a cheerleader. She sniffed as she straightened her ledger. She couldn't wait until tomorrow when they all left. Hearing a cough, she turned around with a bright, fake smile. "Welcome to Marion Hotels!"

The young man stared at her irritably. He was extremely good looking…for a kid. "I'm looking for someone. Madison Kim. Can you tell me what room she's in?"

"I'm afraid I can't, sir. Hotel policy."

The blond stared at her in disbelief. "She knows who I am. Tell her that Dylan's here."

"Not only do I not know who you're talking about, I just said that I can't do that." The receptionist said testily.

"Not know…she has this stupid clown haircut, she's with the Eden Hall robotics team, scrawny, she's about yay high…" Dylan trailed off helplessly, staring at the unimpressed receptionist. "She's like the tallest Asian girl you've ever seen!"

"Oh. Her." The receptionist nodded in recognition. "Yes, well. I still can't tell you her room."

Dylan resisted the urge to punch this bitch and struggled to control his temper. "You don't understand…I'm her brother."

The receptionist stared at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm adopted." He elaborated with a straight face.

Against her better judgment, she laughed. She shook her head admiringly. "I've got to hand it to you, kid. You've got style. Room 332. If anyone asks, it was a lucky guess."

"Of course, ma'am." Dylan took off down the hallway with murder in his heart.

* * *

"Want one?" Maddie looked up listlessly to see Andrea offer a bottle of beer to her. She shook her head and turned back around to the window.

"Hey, Maddie. Buck up. One would think you're not having fun." A rather good looking boy drawled from the other bed. Maddie would so have had a crush on him…if it wasn't for the fact that he was a complete dickwad.

"Leave her alone, Stevens. Maybe she's missing her _friends_." Andrea drawled, throwing a wink to the lounging boy.

She didn't answer and stared out into the parking lot. They were having a "party" to celebrate the last night they would spend together. All the kids were crammed into one of the rooms and were laughing and drinking. Except her. Adam would have killed her if he found out she had been drinking.

Thinking of Adam just brought along a new wave of homesickness. Rooming with Andrea just made her miss her own suitemates more. All in all, she was utterly miserable. Miserable to the point of staring at the parking lot. Christ, she hated Hummers.

The gas guzzling, environment unfriendly-wait. She frowned as she squinted at the dark silver car. That was a BMW Z4 Roadster. Dylan had that car.

Suddenly, the door seemed to reverberate with the force of someone's knocks. Everyone stopped talking as they stared at the door. "Open this fucking door! I swear to God…Maddie! Are you in there?"

* * *

Dylan pounded on the door. "Open this fucking door! I'll break this down if I have to! Maddie!"

The door opened a fraction and a boy poked his head out. "Can I help you?"

"Cut the shit, Stevens. Where is she?" Dylan growled.

"Dude, I don't know what you're talking about. You should leave before we call security." The other boy smirked, making to close the door.

Dylan's hand effectively stopped that from happening. "Yes, well. It'll take security ten minutes to get here. And during those ten minutes, I'll be hurting you really badly." He then slammed the door open. "Do you honestly think I won't hesitate to beat the living shit out of you?" He sneered as he shoved past him and stalked into the room. He then glared at the shocked assemblage as his eyes searched for a familiar face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Andrea Howell snarled, coming forward.

The blond ignored her as he locked eyes with his best friend. She looked awful. "Maddie. Get your shit and wait for me in the car."

"Dylan-" She started before she was cut off by her furious captain. "Maddie, the minute you touch your stuff, you're done for. I'll ruin your reputation in this competition. Good luck trying to get a recommendation after that."

Grey eyes flashed with dire warning. "Maddie. Get your shit and wait by the car._ Now_." He ground out with clenched teeth.

Maddie looked at Andrea for a second before she walked quietly towards the door. People parted to let her through as she passed. Dylan waited for her to leave the room before he turned his attentions back to the other girl.

"You can kiss her academic reputation goodbye." She hissed.

The smirk he gave her was absolutely evil. "Baby girl, did anyone ever tell you that you're a psycho bitch?"

"Y-you insuffera-"

"I mean, really." Dylan continued as if she hadn't even spoken. "I know that I'm rather irresistible but really…it's been how long? It was a one night thing!" He then gasped theatrically. "Oops. Was I not supposed to let that get out? Guess not, judging from the look on all your hopeless faces." He shrugged. "It wasn't that big of a deal. I was a freshman, and I guess Miss Howell over here thought I was quite the catch."

"I did not!" The girl screeched, her face flaming as the rest of the Robotics team stared at her in disapproving shock.

"Oh but you did." The blond smirked. "Not that I blame you…but you must have _really _thought I was amazing. You were practically begging me to take you up against the wall. Me…a fourteen year old. Thank God I bowed out gracefully. Just goes to show what a dirty little slut you are, doesn't it, Andy dearest?"

"Y-you…I'm going to ruin her!" Andrea threatened furiously.

"No, you're not." Dylan's eyes narrowed dangerously although his voice remained calm. "You're not going to do jack shit. You know why? Because I'll ruin your _life_. I know all those people you know too, Andy babe. But the difference is…my family pays them. And not only are your little nerds not a very big match for my friends, I'm a lot smarter than you think I am."

He looked at her speculatively. "I'm going to tell Maddie to act like you don't exist. I suggest you do the same. Have a nice life, Andy. You should probably continue to see that psychiatrist." He then leaned in closer. "You should learn when to let go. When to gather what's left of your dignity and realize you're never going to get that person. When to let that person go because they don't want you. I learned."

She just stared at him as he stepped away, unable to speak. He flashed her a lopsided smile and made his way towards the door before stopping again.

"Oh, and by the way…your sister kisses better than you." He tossed over his shoulder wickedly. "You should take lessons…oh wait. You just practice on her leftovers, don't you?"

Andrea finally managed to find her voice as she screamed in anger.

* * *

"I think you should invest."

Carmen looked up at a serious looking Ken. "What?"

"Stocks, Carmen." The Chinese boy said, taking a seat in front of her. "It's the only way you're going to make that money."

"Stocks are a risky business, Ken."

"So is running inside a burning building." He answered flatly. "Carmen, I've been in stocks for the past two years. I've made enough money to pay for my four years at college! Trust me on this."

"And just what exactly would we be investing?"

Ken leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. "Mining. A veritable untapped source of raw materials…for now. With my calculations, we have about two weeks to buy shares before the masses hear about it."

Carmen stared at him. "Ken…it's not my money."

"It's the only option you have left." He said gently.

She stared into her bedroom where a sleeping Nick lay. "How much would we buy?"

* * *

Maddie didn't even look up when he entered and continued to stare at her hands.

The two sat there in silence for awhile before Maddie spoke.

"I'm sorry I didn't go with you to get my haircut."

Dylan stared straight ahead. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was going to quit."

"I'm sorry for not listening to you." Two big tears rolled down her cheeks.

He reached over and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I'm sorry for a lot of things, princess." He said quietly, kissing her forehead. He didn't talk for a minute before he spoke again. "I like your haircut."

"Really?" His best friend sniffled.

"Yeah. I'm sorry for saying that it looked like something a cracked out porn star from the 60s would wear."

"You said that?"

"It's not important." He muttered hastily.

"How was the auction?"

"It was fine. Mom bought me. She wants me to clean the gutters."

"You don't do menial labor."

"I know. Dad had a good laugh about it. Whatever. I'll blackmail Tina into doing it." The blond paused and stared out onto the parking lot. "So did Carmen."

"I bet she looked gorgeous tonight." Maddie sighed a little regretfully.

"She did." He murmured quietly. Something in his voice made Maddie stare at him suspiciously. "Dylan?"

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Does it have to do with Carmen? Did you guys fight?"

"No."

"Did you ask her out again? Why aren't you talking-"

"I'm done, Maddie." Dylan admitted quietly. "I'm done with her."

She stared at him in shock. "W-what? Are you serious?"

"Yeah." He nodded wryly. "I was a fucking idiot. I honestly thought I was good enough for her. I've finally realized that I'm not."

"Dylan-"

"She's been sleeping on the couch, Mads. Because Nick will be more comfortable in her bed. She's been working non stop for orphans that she's never even met. There's no way in Hell that I will ever be good enough for her. I don't _deserve_ her. And I've finally realized it. I'm done." He then smiled at her and brought out a large envelope. "This came for you."

"What is it?" She asked, resolving to let the Carmen matter die for now.

"I'm surprised you don't know. You busted your ass off all last term for it."

Maddie's hands started to tremble as she saw the crest of the Vaganova School on the corner. Shakily, she opened it and slid out a letter. "I-I'm in."

"I know." Dylan answered without shame. "I already read it."

Maddie stared at him. "You're going to Russia!" Dylan hastily crowed, intent on changing the subject. "I might even visit you, I'm going to be fairly nearby…kind of."

"Minnesota isn't fairly nearby."

"I was thinking Australia."

"What?"

"Maddie," Dylan clucked, starting the car. "Step up your game."

* * *

Hi. Writing is a lot of work. I actually had to sit down for the past two days straight to do this.

So I'm thinking…one more chapter of this and The Way We Roll will be finished. I'm also thinking of doing a one-shot or two-shot that will take place during the summer. And then we'll go on their senior year. And then my epic saga will be over.

Scary, ain't it?

Please R&R! Have an awesome time before school starts up!

* * *

**Lyndal: **Thank you for the encouragement, babe! I'll do my best!

**Jas120**: Thank you so much for the review!

**lkwREADer:** Adam Banks is pure sex. I'm glad you feel the same way. Thank you for the review, babe, it made my day.

**Joanna: **Dude, I totally picture Jake Riley to look like his brother and Rick Riley was gorgeous! Thank you for the review, sweets!

**Sphinx005:** I take it you're from Australia? Well, then I tribute my Junior Goodwill Games to you! Thank you for your reviews, sweets, they always make me get the fuzzies.

**Percussion: **Yes! Another Adam fangirl. Loves it. I'm sorry about the OCs. I try to incorporate everything around the Ducks but it gets so hard as my mind just keeps popping out another one. I guess I think of them as like guest stars on a TV show. As for the dancing, I'm not a dancer so I had to go ask the real Maddie who is, lol. You are right, but since modern dance has evolved so much, hip hop has pretty much become a sub category of it. Well, that's what she said. What do I know, I just play the cello. Thanks for the review, sweets!

**Pixiedust5: **Hey! I have big plans for Julie/Portman, don't worry! And buck up, bad days are a part of life. A guilty pleasure song of mine for those days? Gotta Work by Amerie. Thank you for the review, darling!

**Jessiquie: **Hey! Oh my gosh, thanks for the praise. I don't know if I deserve it but…anyway, you really made my day with those three reviews. Love you!

**Torithy: **Thank you so much! I'm always worried about the OCs…as all authors probably are but it's nice to hear that they're blending in! Thank you!

**Truth-behind-your-lies:** Dylan's amazing. He's definitely my favorite. Thank you so much for your review!

**LoudandQuiet: **Updated! A really long wait, for which I'm so sorry, but it's updated. Thank you for the review, darling!

**Cat: **Reviews make me happy. So you just made me ridiculously happy. Thank you so much!


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Mighty Ducks. I wish I did. Cause then I'd be really rich._

_**WARNING: AS AN APOLOGY OF SORTS FOR LACK OF UPDATES, THIS FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THE WAY WE ROLL IS OF EPIC PORPORTION!**_

– _Chapter Twelve –_

_Finale_

* * *

"Connie…Connie, sweets…wake up."

"Banksie, you're too soft. Just flip her over."

"It's her _birthday_. I'm not flipping her over on her _birthday_."

"Will you _shut up_?" Connie growled, opening an eye. "Adam's right. It's my birthday so piss off and let me get some sleep."

"But we have presents!" Charlie grinned, flopping down next to her.

"And cake!" A cheerful Guy Germaine chortled, sinking down onto her other side.

Dylan Howard raised an eyebrow and leaned over to Adam. "You wake up to two ex boyfriends in the same bed with you on your seventeenth birthday. That's got to be awkward."

The hockey player rolled his eyes at the other's statement. He had no idea what went on in that messy blond head of his. "Cons, everyone's waiting for you. Come on."

"It's…it's seven thirty in the morning! On a Saturday!" Connie practically wailed, checking her alarm clock.

Dylan shook his head. He'd had enough. The Ducks were entirely too lenient when it came to their girls. Thank the Lord he was equally as spoiled as they were. Which explained why he had no qualms about reaching over and tossing the petite brunette over his shoulders.

"Dylan! Dylan Thomas Howard! Put me down right now!"

"You know, you're a lot heavier than you look. Well, I guess you would be. Because you _look_ like a tiny shit."

"Dylan!" The tiny girl screeched, pounding her hands wherever they could reach.

He wasn't too worried. "A bit higher, Cons. I have a kink over there that I just can't get out. There! That's perfect."

The other Ducks stared at the irrepressible blond as he left the suite with a furious Connie slung over his shoulders like a dead cow. Then with a shrug, they followed him out. After all, what was there to say about a sight like that?

* * *

"Is…is…is that what I think it is?"

"A 1967 Camaro? Completely redone, reupholstered, repainted, all for your personal enjoyment?"

"Oh my God." Connie stared at the dark red car in disbelief. "You got me a car."

"Yes." Portman grinned, ruffling the small girl's hair. "Close your mouth, princess. It's not becoming."

"Do you like it, Cons?" Ken asked as he looked over at her fondly.

"Me and Dylan totally wanted to get you rims but _some_ people thought it was tacky." Maddie sniffed, shooting a pointed glare towards a resigned looking Carmen and Adam.

Connie tore her eyes off the cream colored leather interior and turned dazedly to Julie. "You guys got me a car."

Julie slung an arm around the smaller girl. "Happy Birthday."

"You guys got me a _car_."

"Yes, we've gone over this point." Averman remarked cheekily. He let out a grunt of surprise however when Connie suddenly buried herself into his chest with a muffled wail. His surprised eyes were magnified by his glasses as he looked helplessly at the gathered assemblage. "Um…" He said awkwardly as he patted his baby girl on the back. "There…there?"

"I'm sorry." Connie hiccupped, wiping her eyes hastily. "I'm just happy. You guys…you guys are amazing. The best friends a girl could ask for…" And with that, she dissolved into a fresh deluge of tears. Wordlessly, Maddie reached over into Adam's pocket, pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her.

Even though he was itching to say it, Luis shut his mouth and swallowed the comment that he was going to make about the handkerchief. It was of rather obscene origins so perhaps it was best that he didn't say it in front of the Wailing Woman over here.

Charlie snickered. "How much do you want to bet that Connie's on the rag?" He sang, skipping out from Julie's reach.

Connie glowered at him. If her eyes and nose weren't so puffy and red, she would have looked quite menacing. "Spazway…shut up."

* * *

Ken Wu absently flicked a piece of lint off his velvet blazer as he waited for a certain golden haired Latina girl to appear. With a sigh, he pushed his sunglasses down to check the time. She was supposed to have shown up ten minutes ago.

A slight scowl creased his rather good looking face. The years had been especially good to him. Gone was the awkward, slightly goofy boy of yore. Ken smiled to himself as he remembered his shrimpy, pre-teen days. Sure he still wasn't that tall – he _was_ Asian, after all…Maddie was just a freak of nature with abnormal growth hormones – but he felt that five foot nine was a good solid height for him. And with the height had come the confidence of his business prowess. And combined with his innate sense of fashion, Ken had no limit to female admirers.

Indeed, Ken wasn't a business man; he was a _business_, man.

It was almost by accident that he had stumbled upon stocks. And it was complete chance that he made a great deal of money the first week. It was chance for the first time. It wasn't the next eight times.

Ken knew the science behind economics now. And hell, if he wasn't amazing at it.

His new hobby – that was currently making him thousands – was the reason he was rethinking college hockey. For the past year or so, hockey and the stock market had pulled up even in his passions. But now…now he wasn't so sure.

He loved hockey. But there was only so much of the game he could take. Unlike the Bash Brothers and Banks, he just couldn't bring himself to watch game after game of brutal hockey. He'd much rather see how his gamble had paid off.

Ken knew that his mother worried about him. As a devout Christian, she held a healthy fear of gamblers and Ken was technically gambling. Technically. He preferred Charlie's term. Exploration of possible outcomes. Winner takes all. Only this winner had given a significant chunk of the money away to charity. He wasn't in it for the money. He was in it for the game.

Everyone had a vice, an addiction if you will. He "gambled" in stocks. Maddie hacked computers. Carmen's sleek black Corvette seemed to need new tires every other month from her impromptu drag races. Dylan was making his way through the female population at Eden Hall. Charlie seemed addicted to trouble. Banks played golf. The freak.

Ken shrugged. It was what made them human. And besides, they had each other. The Ducks always had each other. It was a handy support system for when they got into trouble. And boy, did they get into trouble.

Ken straightened as he saw a head of golden hair emerge from the Administrative Building. "Well?"

"He said no." Carmen answered flatly, her amber eyes sparking irritated flashes of fire. "Apparently we can't afford to risk losing the money we made from the auction."

Ken sighed as his hand absently touched up his faux-hawk. He had taken to wearing the hair style for the last few months and was extremely relieved when the effect wasn't as ludicrous on him as it had looked on others. "So how the hell are we going to get that cash?"

Carmen frowned, her face deep in thought. "How much is the minimum we need to invest again?"

"Five thousand."

"I'll have it to you by next Sunday."

Ken raised an eyebrow. "Do I even want to know?"

"No."

"Illegal?" He asked, feeling the bottom of his stomach drop in foreboding.

"You know, I'm actually really hungry. Let's go eat."

* * *

Fulton frowned as he checked his schedule for the fall semester.

AH? What the hell was AH?

He scowled as he trudged through the library. Stupid school with their stupid codes. How anyone could decipher the – hello, Charlie's ex girlfriend. His extremely knowledgeable ex girlfriend. Fulton beamed happily as he trotted over to her. "Linda! Hey, Linda!"

The brunette turned around and gave him a smile. "Hey, Fulton. What's up?"

"Do you know what AH is?" He immediately asked, shoving his schedule in her face.

"Art History." Linda murmured absently as she looked through his schedule. "Fulton, why are you taking art history?"

"That's a good fucking question. A better question is…what the fuck _is_ art history? It sounds pansy." The burly hockey player demanded, snatching the piece of paper back from her and glaring down at it.

"What's art history? You can't be serious."

A look at his face immediately showed that he, in fact, _was _serious.

Linda sighed. Eden Hall and their uncultured jocks. "Come on."

"Where're we going?"

"I'll show you a couple books about the subject. You can read up on it."

"You want me to read?"

* * *

"Hey! Dylan! Charlie!"

The two turned to see Julie walk towards them. "Listen, could you guys go pick up Nick from school? Carmen can't make it today so someone has to cover for her. I was going to ask Adam but he told me to tell you."

Dylan nodded. "Yeah, sure, Jules."

"Good." She said with obvious relief before narrowing her eyes. "No funny business. And I mean, _no _funny business."

"Why, Miss Gaffney! What a thing to suggest!" Charlie snickered, mockingly holding up a hand to his heart. "We will be sure to be on our _absolute_ best behavior!"

"Seriously, Jules, it hurts. Like we'd jeopardize Nick's reputation or safety or morality or virginity-"

"Howard!"

"Kidding!" He laughed, ducking out of her reach. "Hey, Charlie, guess what I heard!"

"About Julie and Portman? How they were K-I-S-S-I-N-G?"

"I thought it was more like H-O-O-K-"

"Pick him up _now_." She snarled, her face turning scarlet with fury and embarrassment.

"At once, your royal kissy-face." Charlie threw over his shoulder before the two skipped away, giggling to themselves.

_Assholes_, she thought bitterly.

* * *

_**A day later**_.

"You! And you!"

Dylan lazily turned his head and saw a figure by the name of Adam Banks looming in the doorway of the girls' suite with a pale faced Nick by the hand. To say he looked a little angry may have been an understatement. "Hey, Banksie. Want some popcorn? We're watching Mean Girls."

"Maddie, take Nick and go for a walk." The tall center ground out through clenched teeth.

"Hey, you can't make her go anywhere!" Charlie objected before quailing under his best friend's murderous glare. "Or maybe you can. Bye, Mads!"

"Banksie…what's crawled up your pasty white asshole now?" Averman grinned, scratching his flaming red hair absently. The hockey player just set his jaw and moved aside to let Maddie through.

"Am I in trouble?" Nick whispered, as Maddie hurriedly grabbed his hand to pull him out of the suite. "No, but they are. Come on!"

The minute they left, icy blue eyes focused on the two miscreants that were staring at him apprehensively. "Funny thing happened today when I went to pick Nick up." He started in a deceptively mild tone. "The principle really wanted to see me for some reason."

"Was she hot? Did you get her number?" Dylan immediately asked, his interest piqued.

"She's fifty three, married with three kids, one of whom is our age." Adam snapped irritably. "You see, it seems like one of the teachers was rather shocked by an event that happened yesterday afternoon involving a certain Nicholas Hunt. In fact, she was so shocked that she submitted a written inquiry regarding the incident."

"Sounds official." Charlie murmured to Averman, looking a little impressed.

"Shut up, Charlie." Adam snarled, losing his composure for a second. "The principal was kind enough to give me a copy of the inquiry. I'll just read it verbatim." He finally continued in the same mild, poisonous tone.

"By all means, Banksie! I sure as hell need a story." Dylan's charming smile faltered, however, under Adam's bad tempered stare.

"_I was making sure that all the children had been picked up when I noticed one child by the name of Nicholas Hunt, still waiting. Just as I was about to make my way over to him, a silver BMW convertible sped into the parking lot – a school parking lot, mind you, with speeding regulations. Now, the natural process would be to stop and let the passenger in. However, upon seeing Nicholas, the two teenagers occupying the vehicle, immediately let out wild whoops and continued to drive towards him. Imagine my surprise when the dark haired boy leaned over the side and shouted for Nicholas to run over while the blond boy continued to drive on, albeit much slower. I watched in stunned disbelief as Nicholas leapt into the car with the aid of the dark haired boy that was practically hanging out the side. They then proceeded to drive _through_ the garden and speed away, breaking an infinite amount of rules in the process._" Adam paused to glare at them. "I'm going to ask this once. What the _fuck_ were you_ thinking_?"

"It's a drop-top for a reason!" Dylan cried defensively as Averman started laughing. "It's not like he's dead or anything! And his name's Nick! What the hell is _Nicholas_?"

"Yeah, we didn't want to stay too long anyway!" Charlie chimed in. "Gas prices are sky-rocketing!"

"If anything, you should be thanking us!" The soccer player accused, shaking his hair out of his eyes. "Hello, can you say Nick Hunt, future action star? We discovered his unbelievable, gravity-defying, stunt-star, physical prowess!"

Adam had turned a rather fetching abnormal shade of purple and a vein was throbbing prominently on his forehead. "Y-you-I-going to-all fucking insane-kill both-AARGH!" He suddenly howled.

Averman looked mildly alarmed. "Adam, are you okay? You should take it easy, your blood pressure can't handle this much stress!"

"Would you like to sit down?" Dylan offered solicitously, getting up. "Maybe have a nice, cold beer? We have a couple left."

"How about a back rub?" Charlie frowned, looking at his best friend with worry. "Have you been eating well? You're looking a bit peaky."

"I bet it's the golf team that's got you all bothered." Dylan mused sagely. "I knew you shouldn't have joined. They dress like my daddy."

Goldberg turned to look at the blond. "Well, Banksie dresses like your papa too."

"True." He conceded before looking at a haggard looking Adam. "I must say, dear chap, steady on there! Come sit."

"N-no." The only mature person in the room managed to gasp out. "I'm going to go back to my room and take a nap. Don't worry, none of you will ever have to pick up Nick again. Charlie…leave me alone for five hours_ at least_."

Charlie looked mildly offended as he watched his roommate slam the door in his face. "Hey, that's my room too!"

* * *

Carmen Rivera was one of the few people in the world who could pull off looking angry.

It was something about the amber colored eyes or maybe it was the slight flush on her tanned skin. Perhaps it was the way her white teeth were ever so slightly bared and how her hair seemed to take on a hard, metallic glint as opposed to the soft, burnished, dark honey sheen of her in a neutral mood.

Jake Riley prided himself on being a connoisseur of women and he reluctantly conceded that Carmen Rivera in a flying temper was absolutely magnificent. It was a pity about the personality, really, or he might have even taken a shot at her himself.

Well, no, he wouldn't have. Carmen was a little too much _woman_ for him. He didn't think he could handle that much sheer presence. Allie Howard had been enough to make his head hurt and they had only been fucking each other. Well, until she left him for that damnable cowboy. Bitch.

And then there was also the small matter of his best friend having laid claim to this curvy beauty before anyone else. Oddly enough, Dylan was the only other person Jake could think of who matched Carmen's gorgeous fury equally. No homo.

But it was okay now. He had let it slip to the general public that his best friend had "lost interest" in Carmen the other day. It was a better term for the sob story an extremely inebriated Dylan had moaned to him. Something to do with "too good for me" and "I'm done, man. I'm giving up." It would never have done to let _that _story leak to the Eden Hall population. Weakness was something for the Ducks.

All in all, Jake was as ecstatic as his filthy rich, snobby, white ass could be. His best friend was finally rid of that bloody harpy – and good riddance too! – and things could go back to the way they were. If only Charlie Conway would just choke on a bone and live out the remainder of his life in a permanent state of paralysis, Jake himself could die happy.

His musings were interrupted by a cold voice that cut clear through the entire chatter of the room. "This is the most ridiculous assignment I have ever heard of."

Jake's disinterested brown eyes wandered lazily back to Carmen, who was clutching the piece of paper in her freakishly small hand – abnormally small appendages creeped him out – and promptly let out a long-suffering sigh.

She was such a _nerd_. Only she could get so worked up over homework.

He was about ready to dismiss her screeching and go back to his own thoughts when a familiar voice caught his ear. "I hate to agree with Rivera…and trust me, I _hate_ to agree…but I oppose this assignment as well."

Emily Parker? She was part of his crew. Why was she siding-just what kind of assignment were they talking about anyway?

The tall boy quickly snatched the sheet from his neighbor's hand and scanned it. Oh hell no. No no no no no.

* * *

Carmen barely registered Emily's "supportive" statement and glared at their idiotic teacher. She had known this woman would be trouble right from the beginning.

Health education, her ass.

"I feel this assignment is a violation of a student's right to privacy. This is a Health Education class, not a personal session with a therapist. It is a pointless bit of written work that has no real beneficial or academic merit." She bit out furiously, glaring at the young teacher.

Mia Slater looked calmly back at her. "By writing all the feelings and various thoughts you have during the day, this is a perfect chance to look at your own psyche. Perhaps, you may form some new opinions about yourself."

"I'm not writing a fucking diary!" Jake Riley suddenly growled, slamming his hand down on the desk.

"Language, Jake." Mia answered smoothly, her gaze still locked on Carmen's angry one. "Carmen, I know it's hard for you to express your feelings-"

"That's exactly what they are. _My_ feelings. You have no right to even have a _glimpse_ into them. Well, that is to say if I _had_ any feeling. Which I don't. As I said before, this assignment violates a countless number of our student rights…not to mention, the line between a student/faculty relationship." The blonde snarled, shrugging off Goldberg's warning hand.

Her teacher's eyes finally flashed with anger. "Young lady, I assure you that the Board did not have any objections with this assignment when I submitted my syllabus at the beginning of the year. All of you _will_ complete this assignment or you will _fail_ this class."

Guy winced as he practically felt Carmen's rage break down her flimsy dam of control. The girl had been stretched to the max with taking care of her mountainous pile of schoolwork, handling administrative/financial duties for the orphanage and acting as a rather inept stepmother/big sister/babysitter/guardian person type…thing to an uncomplaining Nick. Her nerves were fried and everyone knew it.

"_Fail_?" She ground out dangerously, ignoring Jake Riley's smirk of interest. That asshole seemed to thrive on conflict and fights. Figured he was Dylan's best friend. "You'll fail me? Do you even know who I am?" She was screaming by now, almost shaking with rage.

"You're nothing but a little girl who has no self-esteem and over-compensates that by using her smarts to manipulate others into doing what she wants. You are a waste of an unearthly amount of talent that is too scared to let anyone get close to you, probably due to unfortunate childhood circumstances. So tell me, Miss Rivera, how on the dot, am I?"

"Now, hold on there!" Goldberg objected, feeling a little insulted by the abrasive portrayal of Carmen's character. "Miss Slater, that's a little out of line-"

"I'm going to _ruin _you." The Latina girl declared venomously, her eyes narrowed almost to slits. "You think you can fail me? Fail _me_? I'll fail you!"

"Okay, time to go." Guy said hastily as he scooped all her books into her bag. Tossing it over to Goldberg, he pushed the still yelling Rivera out into the aisle. He then promptly threw her over his shoulder to make a hasty albeit extremely loud exit.

* * *

"Fulton, what are you doing?"

"Reading."

Julie's brow furrowed slightly. "I didn't even know you knew how." She muttered before walking into his suite. Fulton didn't even look up from the massive tomb that was open on his lap. As compared to the ten other massive tombs that were surrounding him. "What are you reading?"

"A text."

"About?"

"Art history."

"Art what?"

"Art history. The Italian Renaissance, to be exact. It's fascinating." Fulton finally looked up and gave her an almost…apologetic glance? "No offense, Jules, but I'm kind of busy. If we can talk some other time…" And with that, he eagerly dived back into his textbook.

Julie stood there, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Fulton Reed had just passed up quality time with _her_ to _read_ about _Botticelli_.

What the _hell_.

* * *

"I just don't understand where it possibly could have went! Willy, be a dear and look in that pile over there. Although I'm fairly positive that it's not in there."

Rotten Willy the Rottweiler obediently stalked over to the mound of clothing and raised a massive paw to root around. This was what he had been reduced to. A scavenger for his master's missing items. He cocked his head to look at the frantic chit.

Her haircut suited her well, he mused before she started to tie it up. Dressed only in a pair of leggings and what appeared to be Dylan's old soccer jersey, she had found a scarf and proceeded to swath it around her head like a turban. Willy resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"We're _house-cleaning_, Willy. It's so dust doesn't get in my hair. Don't look at me like that." Maddie said primly, before her eyes brightened. "Ah ha! There you are, you tricky little rascal!"

She quickly wheeled her chair over to the shelf where the Ball was looking down at them with sleepy, blue eyes. "I'm coming, precious." Maddie chirped gaily, clambering up on the chair. Willy immediately sprang to his feet as the revolving device started to shake and turn. That stupid girl!

"Come here, you sweet little thing, you. There you are." Maddie cooed as the kitten jumped into her outstretched arms. Unfortunately that was the time when the chair she was precariously balancing on chose to roll away in a whoosh. "_Fuck_!"

She was then abruptly caught by a pair of toned arms. Beaming, Maddie turned to kiss Dylan's cheek. "My hero." She chirped as the blond set her gently on the floor.

He glared at her. "What have I told you about climbing on swivel chairs?"

'They're very bad, utterly stupid, only do it if your pride is on the line, blah blah blah." Maddie said dismissively, scooping the Ball up into her arms. "I just needed to get my precious."

"I was right outside! Next time, just give me a holler!" Her best friend growled petulantly, flopping onto her bed.

"What, and have you drop my kitty?" She snorted. "No thanks."

"I would not have dropped it." Dylan scowled before narrowing his eyes at her. "Is that my jersey?"

"Yes. Your mama gave it to me. It doesn't fit you anymore."

"Oh. Okay then. It looks almost as good on you as it did me."

"Thanks. I think." Maddie clambered over next to him and buried herself into his side. She sniffed contentedly. Dylan always smelled like winter. Minty fresh, sharp and clean. Together, she with her vanilla and he with his mint, they probably smelled like Christmas. She wrinkled her nose at the thought. "How's Carmen?"

There was a slight stiffening in his body that almost made Maddie wish she hadn't said anything. "She's stressed, I would imagine. I mean, she did start a fight with a teacher."

"I can't believe she said those things about Carmen!" The dancer frowned vindictively. "Would you believe I actually liked her? That old hag! Insecure little girl, my ass."

"Indeed." Dylan replied shortly, his eyes closed and his tone dismissive. Maddie sat up and scowled at him. "What is it now? I'm tired."

"It's my bed."

"Since when have we differentiated possessions?"

"Since now. You're not over her. Don't even say that you are."

"I am."

"You were her personal stalker for the better part of three years! And now you're _done_? I don't understand!"

"There's nothing to understand." Dylan suddenly opened his eyes. His stunning grey eyes were tired and held nothing of their usual metallic sheen. He just looked so _miserable_. "Maddie, baby, I just can't think of her anymore. It's too hard. Please, it's better this way."

She immediately felt remorse and looked down at her feet. Bad idea. Dancer feet were ugly. She looked at Dylan's defined stomach instead. "Is there anything I can do?" She asked quietly.

Dylan pursed his lips. "Yes, actually. Next Saturday night. Big gala event thing. It's going to be held someplace downtown. Be my date."

"Do you even need to ask?"

"Just trying to be polite."

"What's it for?"

"All the big names in the Twin Cities area are invited. Prime time to get some donations for the orphanage. If you'll take care of the old fogies, I'll charm the knickers off the women."

"So, pretty much the usual routine?"

"Well…yes. You there?"

"Of course."

"Look charming, pretty, witty, and gay, you know the drill."

"Yes." She paused, as she looked at her best friend. He looked so _disillusioned_. You weren't supposed to look like that until you were fifty and laid off with three kids at home to support and a mortgage to pay! "Is that all you need me to do?"

Dylan cracked open an eye. "No. Come here and give me a hug, please?" It was a quiet plea more than anything else. Maddie's stomach did a painful flop. He usually demanded that she do something in that rather spoiled yet lovable way of his. What was wrong with him?

What was wrong with everyone?

* * *

For Adam Nathaniel Banks, the week flew by entirely too quickly for comfort and before he knew it, it was Friday.

It was as if the planets had all realigned to speed up his impending doom.

But then again…what else was new? Bastards.

He yanked impatiently at his tie as he scowled at his reflection. Emily had sent over a new dress shirt yesterday, requesting he wear it. It was from Ralph Lauren and was red and white striped. It was absolutely dreadful. From far away, it looked pink and from close up…he looked like a damn candy cane.

"What do we have here?" Charlie whistled impishly, grinning at the murderous expression on his best friend's face. He stepped aside to let Connie and Dwayne through. "Who are you and what are you doing in my room?"

"The name's Santy Claus." Adam snarled, yanking at the offending tie. It just wouldn't hang _straight_! "Why the _fuck_ did I agree to do this!"

"So y'all could raise money to help the orphanage." Dwayne answered brightly. He immediately quailed under the other boy's bad tempered glare. "You did ask."

"Oh, honestly, Banksie." Connie tutted, bustling over to him. "Stop being so shirty with everyone. It's just a date. Granted…a date with Satan but just a date nonetheless."

"You make me feel so much better." He snapped, as Connie's hands fixed his tie. "I don't see why Dwayne didn't have to be auctioned."

"Oh shucks. Well that's easy!" The cowboy answered enthusiastically. He was entirely too happy for Adam's homicidal mood. "Allie told Carmen that if she even thought about puttin' me on that stage, she'd rip her limps apart like a rabid coyote!"

There was a silence before Charlie spoke. "That's kinda creepy." He made a face as he fixed his hair for his own date with the French exchange student. "She has your balls in a vice."

Dwayne nodded complacently. "That she does. She's awful gentle with them though."

* * *

She had officially gone off the deep end.

Carmen was well aware of that fact.

She had started a fight with a teacher, been forcibly dragged out of the classroom, had then proceeded to almost start a fight with a student for gossiping about her and now she was about to race other crazy people at 140 mph. All in the name of an orphanage that had burned down to the ground.

Oh, she was bloody insane alright.

Zipping up her jacket, she stared at her reflection. Her haggard face was framed by golden hair and the plain black jacket and faded jeans did nothing to help her appearance. It couldn't be helped. She wasn't going for the purpose of winning beauty contests. She was going because she needed to enter the preliminaries which she needed to place high enough in to qualify for the finals that were to be held tomorrow night.

She was about to leave when a scrap of paper caught her eye. Her eyes narrowing, she picked up the paper to see that it was Charlie's transcript. It figured that he would just leave something like this lying around. As she was putting it down, she glanced down almost absently at the grades before freezing.

What on Earth…she quickly scanned the rest of the transcript. This was…this was _good_. Charlie had _good _grades! The majority of them were B+'s, yes, but there were enough As present. For an amazing athlete such as Charlie, that was good enough to get him into a top university.

The wheels in Carmen's brain started working as she came to terms with her startling discovery. With the right phone calls, she could-

"Where're you going?"

Abruptly, Carmen turned to see a pajama clad Nick staring at her. "It's long past your bed time."

"I know. I just wanted to see where you were. Where're you going? Can I come?"

"No." Her voice softened slightly. "I'm not going to a very good place, Nick. It wouldn't be very safe for you to come."

"That's why I should go!" The little boy argued, his eyes drooping sleepily anyway. "Adam said to never let a girl feel unsafe. And he's awfully smart about these kind of things."

"Did he, now?" The corner of Carmen's mouth gave an involuntary twitch. "Well, I say that it's time for bed. Come on."

"I don't see why you won't take me." He still griped petulantly, taking her hand. For some reason, he sounded remarkably like Dylan Howard. The blonde made a mental note to limit contact between the two. She could barely handle one of them, she didn't need a miniature running around.

"It's not a place for little boys."

"I'll be eight in two months! And besides, I'm an _orphan_. I've seen it _all_." Nick rolled his blue eyes dramatically before tugging on her hand. "You're going to go race, aren't you? Can't I please come? Please?"

"I am not going to go race!" The older girl snapped, bodily picking him up into her bed. She yanked the covers around him. "I'm just going to drive with other drivers to see who can go the fastest and win the most money."

"That's what racing _means_." The sleepy little boy yawned, his fingers curling around the Ball who had leapt onto his bed. "You promised I could watch last time."

Carmen sighed and cursed her weak heart. "You can come with me tomorrow. Okay?"

Nick just gave her a big, drowsy smile before he fell asleep. She brushed away the brown hair from his eyes. The construction on the orphanage was almost finished. In about three weeks, she'd have to return Nick there and then figure out a way to reimburse the loan the city and Eden Hall had granted.

And then she had to work on that stupid, God-forsaken journal.

* * *

Luis was trying not to hyperventilate. He really was.

But it was so damn _hard_ when a fifty-seven year old woman's hand was caressing your knee.

"You've been dreadfully quiet, kitten. Tell me more about yourself. You're from Miami, you said? I have a delightful little condo down there." The old woman purred, leaning her heavily perfumed body towards him.

The sound that escaped his mouth was hardly dignified. "Mrs. Hamilton, if you'll excuse me a second, I really need to use the bathroom!" And with that, Luis all but ran from the table.

Not stopping until the bathroom door was firmly placed behind him, Luis immediately began to curse his life with all the words he could think of in English. He then proceeded to curse in Spanish.

The joys of being bilingual.

"I would join you, Mendoza, but I can't really put into words how much my life sucks right now." Luis turned to see Adam leaning against the opposite wall.

"At least you haven't been pawed at by someone who's old enough to be your grandma!"

"True." Adam conceded, before taking a swig from a bottle he held in his hand. He then tossed the empty bottle into the trash. "That's beastly stuff. I hoped it would have gotten better as I went down. But no…"

The image of a slightly swaying, slightly slurring Adam Nathaniel Banks was enough to push the thoughts of suicide from Luis' mind. Oh this was too good. "Banksie, baby, are you drunk?"

"Unfortunately…no. Getting there? A definite possibility." The tall boy muttered before lurching to his feet. "I should get back to the shrew-I mean, her. She looks nice tonight. Her dress matches my shirt."

"Banksie, how much did you have? And where did you get it?" Luis demanded, steadying the center. "Christ, where's a camera when you need it?"

"Half that bottle." Adam jerked his head over to the garbage can. "And I swiped it when the waiter wasn't looking. He wasn't that bright."

While he realized the gravity of the situation, Luis couldn't help the corners of his mouth from twitching. The golden boy was turning into an alcoholic! "Maybe you should go back to the room. Hey, I'll take you there! We'll make some excuses-"

"No!" Adam suddenly declared vehemently, grabbing Luis' collar to hold himself steady. "We have reshponduh…rishdonsuh…responshi-"

"Responsibilities?" Luis supplied helpfully.

"Yes, that!" The blond nodded happily. "We have those. And those are all that I have left in my God-forsaken existence. She's waiting for me. Why is she waiting for me? She bought me this shirt."

"It's a very…nice shirt." The dark haired boy offered before muttering under his breath. "For one of Santa's helpers."

Adam leaned in conspiratorially. "I hate this shirt."

"Oh."

"She didn't like my tie. She made me take it off." From his pocket, he withdrew a wad of champagne coloured silk. "I like this tie. Maddie gave me this tie."

"It's a nice tie."

"Isn't it?" Adam beamed before looking towards the door. "The door's awfully far. But I guess I have to go. Don't sleep with the grandma, Luis."

"I won't." Luis answered, suppressing a shudder. "Don't sleep with Emily."

Adam turned to blink at him owlishly. "Never, ever again. I only did that twice, thank goodness. Stupid bitch took my virginity and stomped all over my heart."

It was the other boy's turn to blink. If memory served him correctly, that was probably the first time he had ever heard Banks call a girl a bitch. Ever.

"And that is precisely why I'm _done_ with her." The drunk mess continued, jabbing a finger into the potted plant. "She can go fuck Josh Landon into the next century because I sure as Hell am not going to."

Luis raised an eyebrow at his friend's retreating back. "What do you know? Banksie gets vulgar when he's drunk." He paused before his pursed lips curved upwards into a smile. "Remind me to get him drunk more often."

* * *

"I'm looking for Damaine."

"You've found him." The big, black man turned and gave her a cursory glance. "Starter girls are down the street. You're going to have to take the jacket off if you want to get paid."

Carmen raised an eyebrow but let it pass. "I'm here to race."

The man turned to look at her. Cigarette dangling from his mouth, she could see how this intimidating beast of a man could run things around here. "Run along, kid. This isn't the playground. There's an entry fee. Maybe you could make it in ten years."

"I have the entry fee." Carmen answered coolly, aware that she was getting the unwanted attention of passerby-s as well. She withdrew an envelope from her jacket. "Four hundred…in cash."

Damaine stared at her. "You joshin', right?"

"I assure you, sir, I'm completely serious. Now, are you going to let me race or not?" She bit out, her tone as icy as it had ever been.

He narrowed his eyes as he took her in. She was a gorgeous thing, he'd give her that. And obviously not from these walks of life. Her clothes looked simple yet were obviously expensive and she held herself with a certain aloof class that others could only hope to emulate. "What you tryin' to pull, blondie? You obviously don't need the dough."

"I probably need it more than any of the other drivers."

"Oh? What for?"

"I wasn't aware that it was any of your business."

"Entertain me."

Carmen resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm raising money for an orphanage."

There was three seconds of silence before the gathered assemblage burst into laughter. Damaine's laughter faltered as he caught sight of her stony face. The smile dripping away from his face, he cocked his head at her. "You ain't trippin', are you."

"No. I'm not." She said quietly. "Not when I have forty futures counting on me. Now I'm going to ask you one last time. Are you going to let me race or not?"

Damaine took a drag on his cigarette still looking at her. He took his time letting out a puff before he spoke. "You got a ride?"

"Over there."

"The PT Cruiser?"

Carmen's lip curled in disgust. "Absolutely not. The black one. Behind the Mustang."

The man rolled his eyes and then took a double take. "The Corvette?"

"Yes. 2007 Z06 Coupe. You're going to take this?" She asked, extending the envelope to him.

He took it as he regarded her intensely. "You think you can ride, kid? You honestly think you can beat all these motherfuckers?"

She sniffed daintily before she turned to walk away. "Well, I'm certainly not going to _lose_."

Damaine nodded, a slow, speculative smile breaking out on his face. "Skinny! Get over here. Place a bet on Blondie over there. And spread the word about her. She just might bring us some more money."

* * *

Emily smoothed her red dress as she saw her date approach. Well, that had been a twenty minute bathroom break. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the slight sway in his walk as he dodged the other tables that had been set up for the auction's dates in Eden Hall's ballroom.

"How was your trip?" She asked, a slight edge to her voice.

"They ran out of toilet paper. I had to wait." He answered mildly, looking blearily at his potatoes.

"I see." She then leaned in closer to him. She, however, moved back when she noticed his attempt at distancing himself from her. "You want to go somewhere a bit more private?"

Adam finally looked up at her. "No." He said simply, giving her a completely insincere smile. "I don't want to go anywhere with you."

"You're slurring your words…are you drunk?" She snapped as her eyebrows lifted sky high.

"Maybe."

Emily leaned back in her seat, a small smile playing at her lips. "Well, well. I thought I'd never see the day. Adam Banks. Drunk as a lord."

"No." Her former boyfriend said dismissively. "Drunk as a lord? Nope, not quite there yet. Drunk as a college frat boy on St. Patty's day? Definitely there."

She actually laughed. "Adam…I've missed you."

"Really?" He asked, rather surprised and not a little bitter. "I haven't."

"Don't be silly." She took his hand. "Don't you ever wish things were back to the way they were?"

Adam stared at her. Then he nodded and withdrew his hand daintily. "Yes. Yes, I do. All the time. I wish I was still eleven and playing street hockey with my brother. I wish they still served orange creamsicles in the cafeteria. But I don't miss the time I spent with you. You were trouble. And why are you hitting on me? Aren't you going out with Josh Landon anyway?" He demanded rather petulantly.

"Oh, him. I've been thinking about that for awhile and I've pretty much decided on tossing him. He's boring me."

There was a poignant pause before the hockey player spoke again. "That seems to be right on track. It's your thing, huh? Your plan of action."

"What?" Emily frowned. "You're not making any sense. Why the fuck did you decide to get drunk tonight?"

"Because, my dear," Adam said expansively, stretching his hands out. "It was the only way to tolerate you. I've had enough of you and your fucking games. Go back to Josh Landon, Em. You and your stupid vagina. Congratulations, you've made me hate female genitalia. We're so through."

Her eyes widened as though she had been slapped. "You-you-how _dare_ you!"

"How dare I?" He snapped, suddenly looking extremely cross. "Don't even start with me, Parker!"

"Ladies and gentlemen! And that will be the end of the night! Thank you so much for your charitable donations and we hope you had a wonderful evening!"

Adam got up. Or tried to. Air seemed to get in his way as he did. When he finally managed to stand upright, he looked down at his stunned ex-girlfriend. "I'll see you around, Emily. I don't really have anything to say to you except…don't get…dead. Yes, that sounds about right." He muttered to himself, frowning slightly in concentration. "I may not like you very much but I don't want you to get dead. So don't do it. I think I got to go throw up now. Excuse me."

* * *

"Well?"

Carmen tossed her jacket onto the couch and turned to look at her best friend. "Well what?"

"Did you smoke the fuckers or not?" Maddie demanded eagerly, trotting into the sitting room.

"Language."

"Sorry." The Asian absently adjusted the cloth turban around her head before refocusing her attentions on Carmen. "So did you?"

"Came in fourth." The blonde said, running her fingers through her hair. "Tonight was just to see who would be able to compete tomorrow. Tomorrow's the big one."

"Can I come?"

_Haven't I already gone through this conversation tonight_, Carmen thought tiredly before looking at Maddie. "I suppose. Someone has to watch Nick. I promised him that he could go."

"Can I bring Willie too? And Dylan?"

"No. And definitely not."

"But what if we need protection? My own street cred can only go so far." Maddie remarked quite seriously.

The girl did have a point. Well…about the protection bit of it. The street cred was the product of her own delusions. Carmen frowned slightly, pulling off her shoes. That area really wasn't that safe. "It's probably not a bad idea to bring someone big…the only problem is…we don't know anyone big who'll keep their mouth shut."

"Portman?"

"No, he'll start a fight in ten minutes."

"Charlie?"

"He's trouble just waiting to happen."

"Dylan?"

Carmen's look of utter disgust was enough to change Maddie's mind. She was quiet for a minute before she clapped her hands in delight. "I know!"

"Who?" The blonde asked warily.

"Adam!"

"…"

"I'm serious! Adam can be quite intimidating when he wants to be! And he speaks ghetto!"

She raised an eyebrow. "He what?"

"I had the same reaction." Maddie shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, it's _him_, you know? But apparently one of his best friends – I just can't remember his name…Jerry, Joey, Jesse? Jesse! – grew up in the hood – almost the projects, mind you – so he understands the lingo! And he can speak it too! He totally put Russ to shame one day!"

As she tried to wrap her mind around the fact that Adam Banks was apparently a closet thug, Carmen still managed to find one thing wrong with the picture. "And if he does go…what will we do about his…ah, _wardrobe_?"

Maddie blinked and looked stumped for a second. "Oh. Right. That pesky little thing. Well, I guess we could ask him to lay off the sweater vests for one night."

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me."

Julie stared at the sight of Fulton Reed firmly entranced by his computer screen. He hadn't even looked up as she came in, leading her to think that he was watching something of a pornographic nature.

Well, there were breasts on the screen.

The only problem was that the breasts were being suckled by a baby Jesus and the demure looking Virgin Mary was calmly regarding a trio of singing angels.

"Fulton Reed!"

The boy jumped and blinked owlishly at his friend. "Hell, Jules. Way to give me a heart attack. What do you want?"

"What are you _doing_?" She howled almost hysterically, her hands on her hips. "Just who are you and what have you done with my Fulton?"

"Ha ha." He scowled sourly before pushing his hair out of his eyes. "Very funny. I'm positively l-m-a-o. R-o-f-l. Real _witty_."

Julie rolled her eyes. What a drama mama. "Stop spelling out internet talk. It's tacky. You've been reading about art for the past four days. Excuse me if I find it a little strange that a _Bash Brother_ has suddenly developed a passion for art history."

"Well, too bad, Jules. I think I've found my calling in life!" Fulton declared, his eyes alight with an unholy zeal. "This shit is amazing! I just can't get enough! I've decided to take the Advanced Placement course next year!"

Julie had no idea what to say.

Just what _could _you say in a situation like this?

"I-I'm really…happy for you, Fult. That's really…impressive. You're really…serious about this, aren't you."

Fulton nodded eagerly. "I want to major in it as well! Not only that, but Notre Dame has a great art history program! And they've contacted me about hockey too!"

She could see it now. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish webpage. Men's Hockey Roster. Scroll down to Fulton Reed. Defense. Six foot one. 205 lbs.

Intended major: _Art History_

That was one for the ladies, alright.

Yet Julie _was_ happy for him. To have found something that you truly loved and were willing to spend hours at a time studying? How could she begrudge him that?

And so, as quietly as a mouse, she slipped out to leave him to his artistic happiness.

He didn't even notice.

* * *

"I'm going to make his life a living _hell_!"

Allie Howard nodded absently as she fixed her nails. She had realized a long time ago that letting Emily Parker rant without interruption was the quickest way to get her to shut up. Sure, Emily was her friend and all…but Allie didn't really care about her. She frowned slightly, pausing in the inspection of her nails. Come to think of it, she didn't really care about anyone except herself and Dwayne.

Oh well. She had come to terms with her shortcomings a long time ago.

"Allie, are you listening?"

"Of course, dear."

"Then what was I talking about?"

"Why Adam Banks is an asshole."

"Thank you! I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks so!" And with that, the blonde continued to screech on about the apparent evils of one of the most pathetically mild-mannered specimens of the male sex Allie had ever had the misfortune to meet. And that was_ including _her cowboy.

"And would you believe he accused me of making him hate vaginas?" Emily raged, throwing her dress off in a fit of anger. "He sure as hell didn't hate it when we were having sex!"

Allie gave a slight shudder. "Please, Em. I'd like to continue thinking about Banks as a vegetable."

The other girl gave no indication of having heard the comment. "For fuck's sake, I was a virgin when I gave myself to him!"

"No, you weren't."

"I was half!"

"Oh, that counts." Allie said dryly, rolling her eyes.

"Mom and Dad were so happy about us being together! It's that fucking _trash_ that he hangs out with that are turning him!"

Allie finally turned to give the angry girl a cold stare. "I'm going to pretend that my boyfriend was not included in that statement."

Emily glared at her right back. "Sorry, honey, but he was. He was in there, right along with your pitiful excuse of a cousin and that bitch of a chink."

The other girl was about five inches taller than her but Allie didn't even back down. Calmly smoothing some gloss onto her lips, her slate grey eyes never left the mirror. "Talk that way about Dwayne again, Em, and you _will_ be sorry. I have nothing to say about Dylan because in all honesty…he really is a sorry waste of life." Allie surveyed her reflection critically. "And I don't get this hate you have for Madison. She's a gook, by the way, not a chink. And you should probably not use those terms, period."

"I don't care what she is! She's a jumped up little whore that has limited talent and is only here by affirmative action." Emily snarled, as she yanked a shirt out of her closet.

"Ouch." The shorter blonde murmured, applying a bit of liner to her lash line. "I wouldn't say that she has no talent. I heard she got asked to be in a music video over the summer."

"She's _Asian_." The other girl snapped disgustedly. "Of course, they're going to ask her. The whole fucking _world_ seems to have an Asian fetish these days. It's not like anyone would _actually _be attracted to her. Where the fuck is my skirt? The Marc Jacobs one."

"Underneath your bed, maybe? Where're you going?"

"To see Josh. I think he might have a handle of vodka. I need some after tonight. Want to come?"

Allie gave her hair a final brush before giving her reflection a satisfied glance. "Nope. It's Freak-and-Leak Friday. I gotta go see my boy before he starts without me."

Emily snorted in disgust. "Please…spare me. That's actually revolting. The two of you are so incongruous that it makes my stomach turn."

"Well, I figure," Allie grinned cagily, pulling her shirt down lower. "that I'm attractive enough for the both of us."

There was a noncommittal grunt from her suite mate. "Where's Tricia, anyway?"

"I think she has a date. That redhead moves fast, I tell you. I'll see you later, dearie!" And with that, all that was left of Allie in the room was a whisk of expensive perfume and a few stray blonde hairs.

* * *

"Y'all must have had a window open. I heard her yelling from outside. Ain't really a fan of Maddie, is she?" Dwayne remarked as he got up from the bench.

"I wouldn't say so, no." Allie agreed quite calmly before reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him. "I told Daddy that I'll be visiting you in Australia."

"Really?" He asked enthusiastically. "Are you being serious or just pulling my leg?"

"Daddy's going to be too busy with his new girlfriend, so yes, I would say that I'm quite serious." She answered as they started walking back to Dwayne's dorm.

"Oh." The cowboy bit his lip as he wondered what to say about something like that. "Ma wants you to come by the ranch."

Allie stopped walking and stared at him. "What?"

"Well," Dwayne said slowly, scuffing his feet on the ground. "I told her we were dating and she got all aflutter and she wants to see what you look like and Pa got real excited when I told him you ride horses and Chris, Mindy and Jamie don't really care or know who you are but I'm sure if they met you, you'd tickle their fancy too-"

"You want me to meet your family?"

"Well…yes'm. Just for a few days or so after school lets out." He muttered a little awkwardly, his ears turning bright red even in the darkness of the Minnesota night.

"They want to meet _me_?"

"They sure do." Dwayne started to babble again. He tended to do that when he got nervous. "I sent them a picture of us and Ma seems hell-bent on getting some meat on your bones. She's been talking about feeding you some grits and bacon for days now. I reckon she already has the cornbread in the oven. You don't have to come if you don't want to-"

"Of course I'll come, you silly man!" Allie suddenly cried as she leaped into his arms and peppered his surprised face with kisses. "Of course, of course, of course." She repeated as she felt two tears run down her cheeks.

"Allie, are you crying?"

She shook her head, burying her face into his chest. "No. No, I'm not. I'm just happy."

"Oh. Alright then."

* * *

On a good day, Adam wasn't exactly Miss Sunshine.

He had too much stress and angst in his body to be completely carefree like some other individuals who shall remain nameless.

Always polite and courteous, of course. After all, he was Adam Nathaniel Banks. But cheerful and upbeat 24/7?

Bitch, please.

But his now-legendary bad temper reached a new peak on Saturday morning.

Apparently, Hell hath no fury like a hung-over Banksie.

"Banksie, I'm telling you…just drink some more and you'll be fine."

He opened a blue eye testily. "Let me get this straight. You want me to drink that can of beer when I can barely stand the smell of alcohol? Because it will make me _feel_ better?"

Charlie looked thoughtful for a second. "Yeah."

"Conway…" Adam began, almost conversationally. "Go fu-" Whatever he had been about to say was lost as he immediately began to empty the bottle of whiskey that he had drunk last night into the toilet.

"That's just gross, dude." Russ remarked from the doorway.

Charlie winced as he looked at his vomiting best friend. "I'd have to agree with you on that, buddy. Christ, Banks, you're like a woman. How much more liquid do you _have_ in your body?"

* * *

Julie looked up in alarm as she heard an extremely loud string of curses erupting from next door. "What the Hell is going on in there?"

Ken grinned, finishing his differential equation with a flourish. "That, my dear, is Adam Banks, hung-over. Has a nice rhythm to his cursing, don't you think?"

The blonde suppressed a laugh as she listened to her ex-boyfriend give Charlie extremely explicit instructions on what to do with his spare time. "Not bad. Not bad at all. Quite honestly, I didn't even think he had it in him."

* * *

_**Carmen Rivera**_

**Journal Entry ONE**

**Saturday, April 28****th****, 2007 **

Woke up to sounds of Kanye West. Irritated.

Fed Maddie's dog. Detached.

Realized there is a scratch on car. Pissed.

Got oil changed for race tonight. Headache.

Yelled at freshman for getting in the way. Triumphant.

Did homework. Busy.

Tried to help Nick with art project. Useless.

Howard can make tissue paper flowers with no trouble. Bitter.

Listened to the drunk sod next door throw up the contents in his stomach. Oddly satisfied.

Opened this journal. Murderous.

Wrote that line. Murderous urges have not left.

Reminisced about throwing Wilson in jail. Anger dissipating.

Realized that I can do it to _anyone_. Almost happy.

Orphanage director called. Building is done. Nick has to go back in ten days. For some reason, nauseous.

* * *

"Adam?"

"Go away."

"Adam, it's me. Maddie."

"Fine. _Please_ go away."

"I have to tell you something."

"Are you dying?"

"No."

"Well, _I'm_ dying. So if you'll excuse me…"

"Don't be silly, you big goose. You're not dying. You're just hung over."

"Maddie, your voice seems to be coming from three different directions."

"If you get your head out of the covers, you'd be able to see that I'm right here."

"No."

"_Adam_..."

"Go away."

"But I have to tell you something."

"Then will you go away?"

"Yes."

"Fine. Shoot."

"You have to take me and Nick to the shady part of town because that's where Carmen's going tonight to race for money to invest in stocks for the orphanage. I'll see you in a couple hours!"

"…"

The sound of the door slamming shut followed the hurried footsteps leaving the room.

"_**Maddie**_! Get back here right now!"

* * *

"Tell me, Moreau. Why must you pollute my atmosphere?"

"Piss off."

"Tsk, tsk. Language, dear girl."

"Riley…get a _life_."

"Oh, I have one. It's just that you and your lovely feathered friends insist on ruining it."

Connie clenched her jaw in anger. This prick was so like his brother, it was actually astounding. Setting down her pencil, she turned to glare at the insolently lounging boy. "Riley, this is a library." She hissed with pure venom. "A _large_ library. Go find yourself another table."

"I like this one."

"I was here first."

"But this one's _mine._"

"Says who?"

Jake merely smirked at her and pointed to the center of the desk. Leaning over, Connie was able to see _Property of J.R. & D.H._ carved onto the surface. Feeling utterly scandalized, she stared at him incredulously. "You desecrated school property?"

"Don't get all _noble_ on me." The other boy sneered, pulling out a textbook. "It was Dylan's idea anyway."

She shook her head disgustedly. "I'm sure. You two never cease to amaze me by the sheer size of your arrogance."

"Oh, like you're any better?" Jake shot back, his handsome face drawn in anger. "Look at me, I'm perfect Miss Duck, I go around fucking whichever Duck isn't fucking each other, blah blah blah. Get over yourself."

Connie opened her mouth as if to say something but then abruptly closed it. Quietly, she pushed her books into the open brown leather satchel next to her and calmly stood up. Tossing the bag over her shoulder, she looked down at the disagreeable brat condescendingly. "You're not even worth it." She sneered as she walked away.

"I guess that means I won this round, huh, Moreau?" He called after her and smirked coldly as she flicked him off. He shook his head and tried to clear his mind of the irritation seeing one of the Ducks would give him. "Stupid bitch." The tall boy muttered, starting to work on his physics homework.

* * *

"Maddie, you try to talk to one more person and we're going straight back to Eden Hall."

The girl gave a slight scowl and settled back against the hood. "You're absolutely no fun."

"Tough." Adam growled, glaring at a few seedy individuals who were looking their way…or more specifically, Maddie's way. "And where do you think _you're_ going?"

"The race is going to start soon." Nick explained quite seriously, yanking his hood over his head. "I'm trying to see where I can see the best."

"You can sit on my shoulders." The older boy sighed, already in the midst of having a migraine. "And put that hood down right now, you look ridiculous."

"I think he looks pretty gangster." Maddie chirped, shoving her hands into her pockets.

Adam refused to even look at her. "Down."

"Fine." Nick huffed, going over to Maddie. "I was just trying to fit in."

"I know, plum cakes." She cooed, picking him up. Mutinously, he settled his head on the crook of her neck and glowered at the hockey player. "Adam's just a little…unwell tonight."

"Who told him to drink then?" The little boy snapped, craning his neck over to where Carmen had disappeared to. "Cause and effect. Carmen told me all about it."

The older boy shot him a look that spoke volumes. "I had some bad seafood." He grunted sourly, although he started to look a bit uncomfortable.

Nick let out a disdainful snort. "Did it come in a bottle?"

Adam stared at him for a second before speaking. "Dylan. And Charlie. You've been hanging out with Dylan and Charlie, haven't you? Why the Hell has he been hanging out with them? They're going to corrupt him to the point of no return." He demanded, turning to Maddie.

"Banksie, darling, those two are amazing and you know it. They're just a little rough around the edges. And not only that, Dylan's the love of my life and Charlie's pretty much yours. Come to think of it, you probably love both of them very, very much, deep, deep down inside." The girl soothed, reaching out to fix his plain, black sweatshirt. "Now calm down and put a smile on. You're going to have an aneurysm if you keep this up. " She said cheerfully, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek.

Letting out a sigh, he stared down at her smiling face with resignation. "Fine. But don't do anything to get my blood pressure up. I think they're starting. Let's go." He grunted, reaching down to hoist Nick onto his shoulders.

As they started to walk towards the starting line, he felt the little boy bend down to whisper in his ear. "You're very tense. You should do yoga or something. Actually, you _and _Carmen should do yoga. It might loosen you guys up."

Adam craned his neck to look at the boy. "Excuse me?" He asked incredulously.

"You heard – Shh!" Nick scolded, his attention immediately riveted on a certain black Corvette. "Quiet!"

* * *

"Julie, you're absolutely no fun."

The blonde sighed in frustration to look at the lounging devils in her sitting room. "I'm on a deadline."

"Deadline, schmeadline." Goldberg scoffed, aiming a paper ball at Averman's head.

"Don't you guys have anything else to do?" She demanded, pausing in her typing to glare at them.

The two looked at each other and then at a despondent Luis, who shook his head morosely. "No, not really." They answered simultaneously.

Julie grit her teeth and looked around for some sort of salvation. "Ken."

The Asian boy looked over at her from the window. "Yeah?"

"Can you _do _something?" She hissed, jerking her head over to the blissfully annoying trio on her sofa.

He grinned slightly. "Honestly, Jules…they're really bored. I doubt anything is going to get them interested."

"Hey, we hear you!" Averman whined, pushing his glasses up and blinking at her owlishly. "I don't see why you won't just play with us."

"Yeah, you're always writing lately." Goldberg complained, sinking down into the armchair. "It's always the newspaper this, the newspaper that. Blah blah. No one actually reads that trash."

"_Everyone_ reads it, Goldberg. You just don't do it because it makes your head hurt, we know." Luis scowled impatiently, looking at the time. "God, do you think they're done yet?"

"Who?" Ken asked, resuming his staring out the window.

"The bitch and her boy-toy." The Miami native growled, crossing his arms huffily. "I can't believe I've been sexiled by the _cowboy_."

"Word, dude. Dwayne's been getting a lot of nookie lately." The redhead nodded sagely. "She should give him some time to recuperate."

"Okay!" Julie cried, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. "I have a deadline! I need to get this article in by midnight! It is now 10:46, I have four sentences written, that means I _don't_ have time to talk about Dwayne's sex life!"

There was a poignant silence after her outburst before Luis sniffed delicately. "Sheesh, Jules. Way to turn into Banksie on us."

"Aaargh!" The goalie practically screamed.

"What I don't get is why you're working so hard at the paper." Remarked Goldberg. "You're taking on a lot more articles than ever before."

"I want to be considered for an editorial position, Goldberg!" Julie snapped acidly. "I need to show that I'm a serious and capable journalist, okay?"

"But you're _already_ the Editor-in-Chief." Averman mumbled through a mouth full of nachos. "At least, that's what it said in the letter."

The blonde froze and stared at him for a second. "What letter?" She asked quietly and dangerously.

"The letter that some guy named Matt sent you." Luis chimed in, rummaging around a pile of papers. "It's in here somewhere…"

"Matt Baldwin? The current Editor? My boss?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Goldberg nodded cheerfully. "We thought he might be a new love interest or something and we didn't want that to turn into another you and Portman fiasco – I still can't believe you guys hooked up, by the way, so gross – so we opened it to see what kind of guy he was-"

"You opened my letter?"

"Don't interrupt, it's very rude." The other goalie scolded. "Yes, we opened your letter – oh don't look so offended, nothing juicy was in it, anyway."

"Yeah, just telling you that he chose you for Editor next year." Averman finished before rolling his eyes. "Big deal."

"Ah ha!" Luis emerged with a torn envelope in his hand. "Found it!" He smirked triumphantly, tossing it over to the stunned girl.

Her goalie reflexes kicking in, she caught it and tried to process what had just happened. "Congratulations, Jules!" Ken grinned at her.

"I-I-I…don't ever read my mail again." She breathed, collapsing into her desk chair.

Averman snorted. "Yeah…okay."

* * *

Even though her body was moving instinctively, Carmen's senses were completely aware of everything that was going on. Her extremities were almost tingling with adrenaline as her foot stepped on the gas pedal a little harder.

Carmen's flawless brow furrowed in determination as her car zoomed down the track, trying to get the royal blue Viper off her tail. Out of the twenty cars that had started, there were only four in front of her. That was four too many, in her opinion.

The frown was wiped off her face, however, when she was violently jerked from her seat. "Fuck!" She snarled, looking into her rearview mirror and now completely enraged. The asshole in the Viper had just slammed into her!

"This car is worth more than your fucking life." Carmen muttered, fighting to keep control of the car as he did it again. She took a deep breath as she readied herself for the third collision.

* * *

"Get off the road, you shit!" Nick howled, pounding his hands angrily on Adam's head. "Man up!"

The hockey player winced slightly but let it go as he was too busy hoping that Carmen came out of this ridiculous situation alive. "Language, Nick." He admonished absently as he clenched his hands, watching the big screen that was set up showing the race.

"Come on, Carmen! Pound that sucker's hood in!" Maddie screamed, jumping up and down. "Or do _something_! Get out of there!"

Carmen must have heard them. Because as the Viper moved in for a third hit, her car suddenly slowed down and dropped back, leaving the Viper to miss her car entirely and come to a tremendous crash into a fence.

"Oh my." Maddie blinked in surprise. "That was quick."

Nick didn't really care about the other driver so much. Or the fact that he was sitting on an actual human being. "Yes! Go, go, go!" He cheered, grabbing two fists full of Adam's hair and yanking them as if they were reins on a horse. "You're closing in on them! She's closing in on them!" He sang, as the Corvette neatly bypassed the wreckage and flew past a neon green Nissan Skyline and towards a white Escalade.

Catching Maddie's suppressed giggle, Adam gave her a glare that spoke volumes.

* * *

"Ken? What up, boy? The night is hoppin'."

Ken looked up at his roommate with a slightly strained smile. "I'll meet you guys there, Russ. I just got to take care of some business."

The black kid raised his eyebrow in distaste. "Oh…_that_ stuff?"

"Yeah." Ken answered with a slight grin. Russ hated anything to do with math and didn't understand how Ken could voluntarily read the fluctuating numbers that comprised the stock market. "This is kind of important, man. I'll be there in a bit."

"Yeah, whatever." The black boy muttered over his shoulder as he walked out of the suite. "Just remember that business men are always the first to keel over and die."

The other boy merely raised an eyebrow and shook his head. Russ had no idea what was going on. Carmen had guaranteed that a substantial amount of money would be in his hands by tomorrow morning and he had to have everything ready for it. They were already set back in the game enough; they couldn't afford any more delays.

"Mr. Hartwick? Yeah, hi, it's Ken Wu." He spoke into his phone. "I'm calling to confirm the stock distribution for tomorrow."

* * *

Andres was considered to be the greatest racer in the Twin Cities area. Perhaps it was because he won by pure skill, never resorting to the dirtier tactics of his fellow competitors. Not that they didn't try to use it on him.

The only problem was…he was too fast for them to fully try.

His yellow Porsche cleanly avoided all forms of skirmishes, just like the owner. Indeed, Andres never lost his temper. Nor did he say much, period. He just drove…and he drove _fast_.

So you, my dear reader, could imagine his surprise when the bright red Maserati that usually behind him as his runner up was replaced by a sleek, black Corvette.

Ah. The new girl.

He had heard a rumor that some little girl had entered the competition. One of those elite boarding school preps. She was fast, though. Goodness, she was fast.

"The little brat is catching up to me." Andres marveled softly. He then realized what he had said and abruptly pressed his foot harder on the pedal. His eyes widened in disbelief as the Corvette just kept speeding up until they were hood to hood. Risking a look out the window, he saw the girl, brow furrowed in concentration. She was a pretty thing, he'd give her that.

The only problem was…that was all he was willing to give her.

The smell of burning rubber reached the assembled crowd's nostrils as the two cars tore down the belt. Each of them seemed to be battling for the lead as the noise in the crowd rose to a fever pitch.

* * *

"GO, CARMEN, GO!" Nick screamed, almost toppling from his precarious perch on Adam's broad shoulders. The teenager calmly lifted an arm to set the unaware boy upright. He had reached the point where his headache had robbed him of all thought.

"What! No! Booo!" He heard Maddie scream in disgust. Adam frowned and looked at the finish line.

Oh dear God. He had went through Hell and back for _this_?

Immediately, he wanted to start cursing about the indignity of it all. They had _tied_. They had fucking _tied_.

* * *

Carmen slammed her head back onto the seat and closed her eyes, wiling herself to remain calm. Irrationally, she felt hot tears prickling at the back of her eyes. Maybe she was about to get her period. She had been feeling rather emotional lately.

But…she had been so close. So goddamn close…

So caught up in forcing the large lump down her throat, she almost didn't notice the knock on her window. Looking up, she saw the other driver standing outside.

He took a step back as she opened the door and climbed out. The two stared at each other. From the corner of her eye, she saw her three person entourage nearing them. Nick looked far too awake for this time of night, Maddie looked disgustingly cheerful and Banks looked grumpy. All in all, they looked normal.

After a brief pause, the other driver lit a cigarette and nodded at her. "You drive well." He spoke with a slight accent, blowing out a cloud of smoke.

"Thank you. So do you."

There was another slight pause. "You can keep the money. I have no use for it."

Carmen jerked her head from her intense perusal of her shoes to stare at him. "I-I-what?"

"You can have the money. Rumor has it that it's for a good cause."

Speechless, she continued to stare at him, slack jawed.

The man gestured over to another man who brought him a briefcase. With a respectful inclination of his head, he handed it over to the shaking girl.

"Well…have a good life. I'd imagine this place isn't really your scene." And with that, the tall, fierce looking man turned on his heel and walked away towards his admirers.

Her entourage had showed up to catch the tail end of that conversation. And typically, Maddie had immediately started beaming. "Oh, I love him!" She gushed happily, clasping her hands to her chest. "He's a babyface, I just wanna hug him!"

"Please don't." Adam murmured dryly, pressing a large hand to his temple. Privately, Carmen agreed. How anyone could call that fierce looking, coiled sprung of a man a babyface was beyond her understanding.

"That was awesome! You were awesome! Man, the way you creamed that Viper! Pow! Will you teach me how to drive?" She opened her arms to catch an extremely excited little boy in her arms. Still spinning from her fortune, she merely brushed a little kiss on the top of his head. "Not for ten years, sweetheart."

She then turned to look at her other two friends. Maddie hugged her, her eyes suspiciously bright. "Seriously, Car, this is great. Ken will be so happy. Everyone will be so happy." She whispered into the blonde's ear. Carmen just squeezed her tight, a lump in her own throat. "I know."

"Come on, let's go home." Adam suggested firmly, staring at the rowdy crowd uneasily.

"Good idea." The blonde agreed as Nick yawned loudly. Maddie immediately took his hand and started walking back to Adam's car. The hockey player turned to look at her. He gave her a tired grin and ruffled her hair. "Congratulations, Carmen."

"Thanks, sweets." She answered, before jerking her head over to Maddie and Nick. "I think they're making a pit stop."

Adam looked over and rolled his eyes. "They're going to get sick tomorrow if they eat those."

Carmen smiled slightly. "It's just funnel cake. I think."

"It's also probably in violation of fifty health regulations."

"True." She conceded, opening her car door. "But the vendor doesn't seem to want to kill her."

"What?"

She jerked her head over to the scene where the young vendor was obviously not interested in making a sale to Maddie. Well…maybe he was…in a whole different sense of the word.

"What-oh hell no." Adam scowled as he spun on his heel and started walking over.

Carmen gave a slight laugh and climbed into her car. _He's a good kid_, she thought fondly as she started up her engine. He always took such good care of Maddie…

Her eyes widened suddenly.

Adam blinked in surprise as the black Corvette suddenly jerked to a stop and screeched back to him. The window rolled down to reveal Carmen's visage. She stared at him and then at Maddie and then back at him with a stunned expression on her face. "You…and…her…you…Banks!" After a few seconds of shocked sputtering, her amber eyes softened slightly, causing them to gleam a liquid gold in the streetlight.

That softness was short lived as her eyes then narrowed at him. "I think I'm going to be keeping an eye on you. A very close eye." She frowned, wrinkling her nose slightly as if whatever idea she had in her head was completely throwing her world off balance.

Adam just stared at her as her window rolled up and she sped away. What the _Hell_ was she talking about?

* * *

Dean Buckley frowned at the memo on his desk.

It was from the Head of the Economics Department, stating a bizarre incident that had taken place that morning. Apparently, a good chunk of the Eden Hall Varsity hockey team had stormed his office, asking for an in-depth lecture on the stock market the sooner the better. The stunned professor had agreed to give a seminar that every evening.

As he had been surrounded by burly hockey players, Dean Buckley doubted that the professor had had any inkling of a refusal floating around in his mind.

What were those Ducks up to? _Again_?

He was getting too old to keep up with them. He needed someone younger…more fresh…his eyes brightened. Happily, he reached over to his intercom. "Meredith? Is Landon in his office? He is? Brilliant. Send him in. I have an assignment for him."

* * *

"Charlie!"

The boy turned around to see Carmen waving at him frantically. After weighing for a split second the importance of going to class or seeing what Carmen wanted, he immediately bounded over to her. "What up, baby girl?"

"Are you presentable?" The blonde demanded, her eyes roving over his figure critically. "Fix your hair." She snapped, her own hands trying to smooth the wrinkles in his shirt.

Half-heartedly, he rubbed at the strands. "Car, what's going on?"

Squinting up at him, she wet a handkerchief and rubbed at his cheek. "Must you sleep in class?" She muttered exasperatedly, coming away with blue ink stained on the cloth. He smiled sheepishly at her. "Don't answer that." She warned him. "Come on."

"Where're we going?" Charlie asked, following her like a little puppy down the hallway.

"I want you to meet someone. He's important so make sure to make a good impression."

"Who is he?"

"There he is." She walked over to a tall man in a business suit. "Mr. Jameson!"

"Miss Rivera!" The man turned to smile at her broadly. "I was wondering where you had gone."

"I had to go fetch your prospect." She smiled and reaching behind her, yanked Charlie forward. "Mr. Jameson, this is Charlie Conway."

Slightly awkwardly, Charlie stuck out his hand. What was going _on_? "Nice to meet you, sir."

"Michael Jameson. I'm the Head Scout for Cornell University." The man introduced himself. "Carmen, here, tells me you're quite the player."

"S-she did?" His voice so did not squeak. He looked over at his friend. "Oh, right. She did."

Carmen looked as smug as a cat who caught the canary. Graciously, she inclined her head towards the two men. "Well, if you'll excuse me…I believe I have some business to take care of. Until later, gentlemen."

Charlie stared at her retreating form and then at the business card the man was holding out to him. This was so not happening. _Cornell_?

* * *

Julie didn't know what was more odd.

The fact that Luis was reading the Wall Street Journal or the fact that Luis knew what the Wall Street Journal _was_.

She nibbled on a carrot stick as she watched the inhabitants of her living room. It had turned into the headquarters for Operation M.M.C.W.M.

The first time she had heard that she had nearly snorted her drink up her nose. Honestly…the things Russ came up with.

Operation Make Money Cause We Money?

Maybe it was because she was from Maine that she hardly ever understood the words that came out of the L.A. native's mouth. The only slang word she had up there was "wicked" and she didn't even say it because Dylan made unbelievable fun of her when she did.

"Have anything else except carrots?" Ken asked, dropping into the armchair next to her. He looked exhausted. Carmen had temporarily placed all responsibility of the money on his shoulders. He had accepted with no comment, knowing she wanted to devote all her time to Nick at the moment. He was due back at the orphanage in three days.

"Yeah, we have tofu lasagna, pita chips and hummus, chocolate soy milk, couscous and a couple apples." Julie grinned as she leaned over to look into the fridge. Maddie had gone on an impromptu grocery shopping spree.

"How…vegetarian." Ken groaned as he heard the list. "Be a dear and check the freezer?"

"Sure…I'm not sure anything's in there, though…oh! You're in luck. Well…if you're in the mood for ice cream." The goalie announced, raising an eyebrow. "Christ, Maddie." The freezer was chock full of at least fifteen pints of ice cream, thanks to the insatiable sweet tooth of a one Madison Kim. Being vegetarian didn't mean that she was going to give up her sweets.

"What're my choices?" The Asian boy asked, looking up in interest.

"Vanilla, cookie dough, butter pecan, raspberry sorbet, coffee-almond crunch, rocky road, mint chip – that's probably Dylan's, no one else eats that around here – and green tea."

Ken pursed his lips. "Throw me a pint of cookie dough. Luis, you're reading the graph upside down."

The Latino boy looked up in consternation. "That would make a lot of sense." He mumbled, quickly switching it around.

"Yeah." Ken said through a mouthful of ice cream. He then swallowed. "I don't see why all of you are getting so worked up over this. We have a couple days before there's going to be any major breakthrough in prices."

"Excuse us for not being Mr. Stock-man." Goldberg snorted, completely immersed in a "Stocks for Dummies" textbook. "We're just trying to figure out how you're going to make thirty grand from Carmen's five grand."

"Especially since we just lost _seven hundred dollars_." Portman said accusingly as he glared at his suite mate. "What the fuck? I thought we were trying to gain money."

"We've invested in mining." The Asian answered thickly, wincing as the cold entered his brain. "They haven't reached the silver vein yet. Once they get to the silver, it'll be huge."

The three other boys turned to look at each other. What had they gotten themselves into? Making money was supposed to be easy. There weren't supposed to be all these fucking _variables. _Supply and demand or some shit like that.

* * *

Connie quietly packed another shirt into Nick's duffel bag. The little boy himself was staring out the window listlessly. She had a feeling that he didn't really want to talk so she didn't press him.

She carefully folded a pair of jeans and tucked that into the bag as well. In about two hours, Carmen would be taking him back to the orphanage. The suite was oddly quiet as all the Ducks felt the somber atmosphere which permeated the girls' suite.

"Nicky?" Connie turned to see Maddie in the doorway to Carmen and Julie's room. She clutched the Ball in her arms and looked thoroughly miserable.

The little boy looked up as she walked over and crouched down next to him.

"Hey, sport. I just wanted…" Maddie's voice broke and she held out the kitten to him. Her eyes were glassy and her lip trembled uncontrollably as she spoke. "Take care of her. She'll miss you too much if he's not with you."

Nick's eyes were wide as he took the kitten from her arms. Immediately, the white ball of fur started to purr and knead against his chest. "Maddie…"

The girl roughly swiped her eyes and gathered him into an embrace which he returned fiercely. Finally pulling away, she looked at him as if trying to memorize every detail of his sad, little face. "I'll come to visit you as-" Unfortunately, she never finished that sentence as tears began to roll unstoppably down her cheeks and with a final kiss, fled the room.

As she heard the door slam to her own room, Connie breathed heavily, wiping away the tear that had made its way down her cheek. She felt a warm arm encircle her shoulders and turned to see compassionate green eyes staring down at her. "Hey." She croaked, making an attempt at a smile.

Charlie gave her a little squeeze and dropped a faded sweatshirt in front of her. "In case he ever wants anything more worn in. It was mine when I was his age. All his other clothes are pretty new." He explained quietly, moving over to the little boy.

Connie nodded as she started folding the sweatshirt. This had been going on for the last twenty minutes. The Ducks and the other Eden Hall students that Nick had befriended had been coming in to say goodbye. She bit her lip as she listened to the quiet goodbye that was being exchanged behind her. It got harder and harder to listen to.

But then…it was even harder to watch. The Captain's demeanor was more subdued and almost defeated as he left the room with a ruffle of the smaller boy's hair.

The smell of Carmen's perfume was enough to alert the tiny girl to the other's presence. She looked over at her. "I think that's everything." Connie whispered.

Carmen nodded somberly, her golden eyes suspiciously bright.

* * *

It had been a quiet drive to the orphanage. As the two of them climbed out of the car, they gazed at the new building. It was definitely a nicer sight than the previous one had been.

"It's bigger than I remember."

"Only a little." Carmen answered, removing his duffel bag from the trunk.

"Where is everybody?"

"Inside, I would imagine. It is raining."

"Is that Mama Finch?" He asked, pointing to the figure waiting by the entrance.

"Yes. Do you have everything with you?"

The little boy nodded mutely, clutching the Ball to his chest protectively.

"Come on then." Silently, he took her outstretched hand and started walking towards the building. Carmen tried to ignore the odd lump in her throat as she felt the child's almost desperate grip on her hand. It was really for the best that he was leaving. Really.

It was all too soon when they reached the door. "Come in, come in. It's raining cats and dogs outside!" Mrs. Finch said, flapping them into the warm foyer.

Setting down the duffel bag, the blonde turned to the little boy. "Well, I guess this is goodbye."

"Am I ever going to see you again?" Nick asked quietly, a telltale tremble in his voice and his big, blue eyes watery.

Carmen knelt down to him, uncomfortably aware that Mrs. Finch was still watching them. "Of course you are, kid. You're coming to see me in D.C. in a month and then we'll go to Sydney from there. You'll be practicing tennis all summer. Hey, don't cry." She said quietly, as she brushed away the lone tear that coursed down the boy's cheek. She resolutely chanted the sentence in her own head as tears threatened to overtake her outwardly stoic features. "Come on. Big boys don't cry."

"I know."

The older girl then suddenly reached around to the back of her neck. Unfastening the amber pendant that always hung from her neck on a silver chain, she placed it on the boy. "Here. Every time you miss me, you look at that and know that you'll see me soon."

He held the tear drop shaped pendant in his hand and stared at him. "It's the color of your eyes."

"Yeah. That's why my grandpa got it for me." She said softly, memories clouding her mind.

Nick gave her a brave smile. "Thank you."

She returned it before pulling him to her in a tight embrace. He hugged her back with equal strength before she pulled away and stood up shakily.

"Take care of him, please." Carmen managed to whisper to a compassionate Mrs. Finch before quickly walking out of the orphanage with a final caress to his soft, brown hair.

She had only gone a few steps before she was stopped.

"Carmen! Carmen! Wait!"

"Nick, sweetie, you're going to get soaked." She admonished, holding her umbrella over his head.

He absently shook the droplets from his hair before clutching the edge of her trench coat. "Am I going to see you before then?"

"I'll see what I can do."

"So is that a no?" He asked desperately, the tears on his cheeks mingling with the rain.

Carmen stared at him, her eyes a glorious shade of amber. And of course, being who she was, she set her jaw and calmly pulled out her Blackberry. Scrolling through her calendar, she paused on a date. "How does Thursday work for you? From 5 to 9?"

"Thursday?" Nick thought carefully, readjusting the kitten in his arms. "That's two days from now?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

She smiled at him. "I'll write you in."

* * *

Ken stopped typing and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he leaned over and scowled at the senior who was "absorbed" in his book.

"Hey, Landon." He hissed.

The older boy looked up in feigned surprise. "Yeah?"

"Get off my dick." The Asian boy snapped, disregarding the titters that arose in the library as everyone heard his loud remark.

"Get off-what the fuck are you on?" Josh Landon sneered, his ears turning red. The other boy simply ignored him as he clicked his laptop shut and shoved his books into his bag. Throwing it over his shoulder, Ken glared at him. "I mean it, Landon. I don't know what you're looking for. But stop stalking me. I'm not doing anything illegal."

"Then just what _are_ you doing?" The Student Body president demanded, all pretenses dropped. "Because you and the other Ducks have managed to grab the attention of the faculty and they're very, very curious."

Ken's nimble mind whirred at this unexpected development. The figure skater turned hockey player made to walk away, throwing over his shoulder a few choice statements. "You really need to stop being Buckley's bitch, Landon. Tell me, how does his ass taste? You're licking it enough."

The blond boy bared his teeth in anger. "Be careful, Wu. I have a lot of power at my hands."

Ken stopped and turned back to him. "You don't even know how to use that power, Landon. Not unless Buckley tells you to. I kind of miss Carmen and Dylan being in charge. At least, they didn't take shit from anybody." He sneered, before stalking out of the library.

A few tables away, a tall, lean figure pursed his lips speculatively. His light green eyes flickering past Landon's sputtering visage, he replayed Ken's final words over in his head. "Carmen and Dylan, Carmen and Dylan…perfect." He murmured as he found the solution to one of the obstacles in his plan.

* * *

Maddie stared at her reflection fretfully. "Connie…"

"Hold still, dear." The smaller girl mumbled through a mouth full of pins. "Let me just finish adjusting…there we go!" She stepped back to see the finished product proudly. "Someone hit you with the pretty stick."

The charity ball that Maddie had agreed to go with Dylan to had crept up on the Ducks suddenly. As Maddie was feeling the absence of Nick rather severely, it had been a shock when she had realized that the ball was that night and she didn't have a dress.

It was during times like these that it helped to have several costumes from ballet performances lying around. It doubly helped when your roommate knew how to sew. It was like having your own personal fairy godmother.

Indeed, Maddie did look somewhat like a princess. Her Sugar Plum Fairy costume from last year's Winter Showcase had been slightly modified into this concoction. The full skirt reached to her knees in an ocean of pure white tulle. The strapless bodice was of gathered white chiffon and had a sweet heart neckline which did justice to Maddie's rather attractive shoulders.

The petite hockey player had thoughtfully removed the edging of clear rhinestones that the dress had originally held around the neckline, deciding that Maddie was, in fact, _not_ the Sugar Plum Fairy and that it was too much, anyhow. Upon seeing the Jimmy Choo's made of hot pink satin that Maddie would be wearing, Connie had added a wide ribbon of the same color and fabric around the dancer's small waist, which gave just the right splash of color to the overwhelmingly white ensemble.

Her hair smoothed into a complex coil at the back of her head, make-up done to perfection, and her hands clutching a clutch made entirely out of tiny silver discs, Maddie would have looked straight off the cover of a magazine. Except for the morose look that had taken up residence on her face.

"Maddie?" Adam asked, poking his head through the door.

"Yeah?"

"Dylan sent me over with your earrings."

"Oh. Right." She took the box from his outstretched hand and opened it. "Christ, these are big."

Adam raised an eyebrow at the large cluster of diamonds that comprised each earring. "Are they real?"

She nodded, fastening them onto her ears. "They're his mom's. She wanted me to wear them." She then sighed as she saw herself in the mirror.

"What's the matter?"

"I look like a doll. A life size doll. When am I going to get boobs?" Maddie replied glumly, still staring at her reflection.

The boy gave her a fond smile. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I _look _ridiculous." She breathed, almost in awe of herself.

Adam just gazed at her quietly for a second. "Maddie. You look beautiful."

She turned to look at him beseechingly. "You think so?"

"Yes."

"Well," The dancer sighed resignedly. "I guess I can wear this then."

* * *

Dylan irritably adjusted the cuff links on his dinner jacket as he stalked over to the girls' suite. He had to say, whoring himself out for the benefit of others was not near the top of his list of favorite things to do.

Just why, oh why, did he have to be so goddamn _good_ at it?

"Well, don't you look precious." Connie came out of the bathroom and grinned at him. "I kind of want to take a picture."

"Tell me if you want to sell them…might as well make a profit out of that for the orphanage, right?" The blond scowled, yanking on his collar for good measure.

"I thought I heard your whine." He turned to see Carmen walk out of her bedroom in Julie's prom dress from last year. Connie had slightly altered the bronze satin gown for Carmen's smaller frame and it currently hugged the girl's curves as if there was no tomorrow. Her hair pulled back and a thick heirloom necklace of pearls gleaming on her throat, she was a vision straight out of Heaven. Dylan was quite sure that no one in Eden Hall could fill out that gown as well as she could.

_But it's best not to think about past obsessions, now isn't it, chap?_ Dylan briskly told himself, tearing his eyes away from her curves and focusing on his cufflinks once again. "Bite me." He replied half-heartedly to her jibe.

The girl continued on as if she hadn't heard him. "I'm going to go ahead, if you don't mind. The invites are on the coffee table, Maddie and you are on the guest list so there shouldn't be a problem even though it's _you_. You may or may not have a chance to check in with me tonight so please, please behave. I'll see you in a bit. Bye, Cons." And blowing a kiss to the brunette, she disappeared through the door.

"Where the Hell is my date?" Dylan demanded sourly the second she left, feeling extremely ill-tempered for some reason. He withdrew a flask from the inside of his lapel and took a swig, defiantly ignoring Connie's narrowed eyes.

"That's a very bad habit, Dyl." She scowled at him, to which he merely shrugged and tucked away the tiny canteen for later irritations. "Anyway, she's inside. She looks absolutely gorgeous." Connie smiled, walking towards the room she and Maddie shared.

"I'll decide that." The blond boy replied grumpily as he followed her into the room. Abruptly, he stopped. And stared.

"Dear God, you look like a cupcake." He stated flatly in disbelief.

* * *

Portman shook his head. "I've lost him."

"Well, let's not be hasty." Guy said diplomatically.

"No." The Bash Brother replied glumly. "I've lost him. He's gone."

Guy pursed his lips and tried to look for a ray of shining light in the dark situation. "Well…at least he's pimping it."

Portman just sank his head into his hands and let out a muffled groan. The other boy patted him on the back reassuringly and then turned to look at one of his closest friends.

Fulton Reed sat in a coffee shop, surrounded by a gaggle of girls – dressed in a wide…_variety_ of clothing options – and with large books of paintings held open in front of him.

Indeed, it seemed as if Fulton Reed was gone and in his place, now stood an artsy-fartsy pansy.

"I mean, it's not that I'm not happy for him!" Portman suddenly burst out agitatedly. "Sure, it's a pretty gay major to choose but I mean, whatever! It's his life! I don't have a problem with it, you know? Art History! He gets to look at naked women 24/7! That's fucking great! But does it have to take over his life?"

"I don't know, man." Guy sighed, as the two sat on the bench outside the coffee shop. "I don't know."

Their staring was interrupted, however, by the vision of their illustrious captain walking nearby. "Yo, Charlie!" The blond called out to his childhood friend.

The tall boy looked over at them and immediately bounded over. "Boys, let me tell you that you look nothing short of queer, sitting together like that."

"Shut up." The Bash Brother growled, resuming his staring at his best friend. "What's gotten you all giddy?"

"Plotting." Charlie answered happily, squeezing himself in between the other boys.

Guy frowned slightly. "Plotting what?"

"Senior year."

"I don't get it."

"I'm done with my standardized tests, boys. I finished the last one this morning. I know where I want to go to college and I got two dates coming up. All that's missing is my senior year." Charlie rubbed his hands together, his light green eyes taking on an almost unholy gleam of delight. "I've been waiting and planning for senior year for a _long_ time, boys. It's going to be un-fucking-believable. Time to show these preppy snots who really owns the school."

"So you've been…_plotting_?" Guy asked slowly, his eyebrow raised.

"Yes, sir. It's going to be a good time, trust me." The Captain beamed, smiling at nothing in particular.

Portman snorted. "Yeah? Well, why don't you _plot_ a way to fix _that_?" He jabbed towards the coffee shop.

"What's that?"

"_That_ is Fulton, deciding he'd rather spend time with some artsy, weird broads than us. So unless you want him out of your senior year plotting or whatever it is, go get him back to _normal_!" The burly hockey player huffed, crossing his arms over his chest rather childishly.

"Oh." Charlie frowned, wrinkling his nose slightly. "Is he still on that? I thought he'd be over it by now."

"Over it?" Guy snorted. "He's been working himself up to a fever pitch. Now he has _friends_ because of it."

"Really, now." Their Captain furrowed his brow in speculation. This was a new development that he hadn't even foreseen. "Why hasn't anyone told him off?"

Ignoring Portman's grunt of displeasure, Guy raised an eyebrow at his childhood friend. "Spazway, art history or not, Fulton's still Fulton. Meaning he's still big and angry and won't hesitate to use his fists if he feels offended."

Charlie slowly nodded, narrowing his eyes. All his planning would be for naught if Fulton didn't get his act together. Fulton and him were buddies from the hood. Senior year wouldn't be the same if Fulton was too busy ogling paint strokes to hang out with the Ducks. "Alright, boys. I'll take care of it."

* * *

"It's legs for me. Legs that stretch for days." A portly, grey-haired gentleman chuckled confidingly. The small group of gentlemen laughed knowingly as they each acknowledged the man's point. The man clapped Dylan on the back and winked at him.

The boy smiled back. "And you're never coming near Maggot." He murmured to himself decisively as he continued to ingratiate himself into the group.

"What was that, my boy?" The man wheezed, tipping back another glass of champagne. "What about you? What womanly attribute does it for you?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of white. "Curves, sir. You can't go wrong with an hourglass figure." He smirked, patting himself on the back as the assembled gentlemen raucously agreed with him. "Well, gentlemen, I believe midnight has come and the pumpkin awaits."

The inebriated men roared with laughter. "Alright, alright, let Cinderella go!"

"Tell your father hello for me!"

"And your _lovely _mother."

"Jenkins, you dog!"

"We'll wire the donation to you first thing Monday morning!"

"Good night, Cinderella!"

"Quickly, Cindy, before your carriage turns back into a pumpkin!"

With a rakish grin, Dylan turned on his heel and weaved his way to his best friend's side. "Ready to go?" He muttered into her ear, tossing a few charming smiles over to some girls his own age.

She nodded swiftly, taking his arm. "Was it just me or did they call you Cinderella?"

Dylan shrugged unconcernedly, walking tall and straight. "What can I say? They think I'm beautiful and everyone loves me unconditionally because of my devastating charm."

"And so modest." Maddie giggled, blowing a farewell kiss to the doorman.

"Just stating facts, Maggot." The blond sniffed, signaling the valet for his car. "Besides…I'm Daddy's little princess. He told me so."

* * *

Dwayne grinned and stretched out on the sofa. Blushing slightly, he ignored the catcalls and lewd comments of his friends and concentrated on opening his soda can. "Will y'all relax?" He finally hollered.

"Nah, man." Russ grinned, leaning back in his chair. "What's the matter, cowboy? Allie got tired tonight?"

"Or was it you who couldn't keep up?" Averman snickered.

Dwayne glared at them. "She had a birthday party with her friends. Girls only."

"Figures." Portman laughed, tossing an empty can in the direction of the garbage can. It was caught mid-air by an irritated looking Julie who dropped it into the trash. He remained unmindful of her glare.

"Easy, Jules." Connie soothed, coming out of her bedroom. "They're just boys."

"Yeah, but _we_ have to live here." The blonde stated angrily, trying not to stamp her foot. "He has his own living room, why does he have to come to ours and mess it up? We always clean their shit in the morning."

The petite brunette looked at her shrewdly. "Are you talking about the boys or Portman?"

"Everyone!" Julie huffed, raising her eyebrows pointedly as another can missed the trash and clattered to the floor. "Seriously, why do they all come here?"

"Probably because your room smells good. Most of ours smells like shit." Adam replied, reaching down to pick up the can. He tossed it into the garbage and walked over to them. "And because they like you girls."

"Do they like us or do they like the fact that we clean up their mess?" Julie snapped, her blue eyes boring an angry hole into the back of Portman's head.

Connie smiled slightly and tossed her long braid over her shoulder. "Jules, babe, come here." She said soothingly, opening her arms to the bigger girl.

At first, it looked as if she was going to refuse but then suddenly, all the fight went out of her and with a disgruntled sigh, she allowed the smaller girl to envelope her in a hug. "Life blows, Cons." She mumbled grumpily, her voice slightly muffled in the other's hair.

"I know, dear." The brunette replied calmly, winking at a laughing Adam. "Now, cheer up. It's Saturday night, all our friends are here and we're going to have a good time."

"Indeed, we're going to have a good time." A new voice joined their group. Looking up, they saw Maddie and Dylan beaming in the doorway. The girl raised her arms in triumph. "We made so much money!"

Dylan's grin threatened to split his handsome face. "You can't even _begin_ to realize how much money I made tonight! Like seriously…if I was a hooker, I'd make millions." He announced as he leaned over to give Julie a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "What's up with you? No smiley for Papa Dyl-y?"

"Ew! Dylan!" She grimaced, her hand coming up to wipe her cheek. "That's gross."

"You're gross." He retorted, reaching over to pull on Connie's plait. "Connie doesn't think I'm gross. _She_ loves me." The brunette laughed as Maddie pointed to the blond behind his back and mimed drinking.

"Let go of my minion, you fiend!" He then ordered, pointing imperiously at Maddie who was hugging Adam. She stuck her tongue out at him rebelliously. "He was mine first!" She argued.

Dylan shook his head and pulled her away from him. Giving her a slight twirl so that her skirt flared out, he laughed. "Sorry to break it to you, sweetheart, but I knew Adam since I was seven. We were on the Hawks together. Until I quit. But he didn't like me very much cause I accidentally pushed him into the cake at his friend's birthday party."

"Yeah. Chad wasn't too happy about his cake getting ruined either." Adam mused, thinking back to his childhood friends. "I don't know how you didn't get kicked out."

The soccer player shrugged and made a slight face. "He wanted to get with my sister. I never liked him. McGill. Blech."

"That makes two of us." Connie muttered, remembering an extremely rude little prick.

The door opened again and Ken suddenly rushed in. His hair was rumpled and his face was flushed. "Carmen! Where's Carmen?"

All eyes turned to him. "Still at the gala. Ken, buddy, you okay?" Charlie asked immediately, half rising to his feet in concern.

"I'm fucking fantastic." Ken gasped, his face breaking out into an elated smile. "Guys, we did it. We broke twenty-five fucking _thousand_!" He yelled.

There was approximately half a second of silence before chaos ensued. People were jumping up and yelling, food was forgotten as everyone gathered around Ken. "Someone call Carmen!" He yelled, before being enveloped in a massive hug by his roommate.

A whooping Dylan turned to give Connie, Maddie and Julie each a noisy peck on the mouth. Giving Adam an arch look, he sniffed daintily. "Sorry, Banksie, but you're just not my type." His eyes suddenly went wide with realization. "Maddie! Party time!" He cried, pulling out two bottles of Moet & Chandon White Star champagne from inside his jacket.

Her face brightened in realization. "Oh my gosh, I almost forgot!" She laughed as she pulled out three more bottles of champagne out from her voluminous skirt.

Julie stared at them for a second before she started to laugh uncontrollably along with Adam and Connie. "You didn't!" She gasped incredulously.

"Oh, we did! We whored ourselves out to the max tonight, we needed payment!" Dylan grinned as he struggled with the cork. "Oh, there she goes!" he cried as they were showered with a cascade of golden foam.

* * *

As the month of May started, things settled down at Eden Hall. The juniors had just finished up standardized tests and were now preparing for college. An anonymous donor had given about thirty thousand to the school for the orphanage and had secured a prosperous beginning for them. And of course, the Ducks had nothing to do with that. Obviously.

All in all, everyone expected a quiet and happy end to a very eventful year.

Until one faithful morning in mid-May when a piece of paper was posted on the bulletin board outside the Main Office.

That piece of paper listed the names of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the next year. Being a rather liberal school, Eden Hall allowed anyone to run as long as they were nominated and seconded. However, the responsibilities of being in a executive position were so numerous and demanding, people rarely wanted to even commit to the _idea _of running in the elections and so there was never more than a few running parties in a year.

One of the parties had been extremely vocal about their campaign and most of Eden Hall knew that the opposing team would stand no chance against this power duo. After all, for all their faults, Tricia Manning and Brett Reynolds were popular, good looking and intelligent.

The election was supposed to be a shoo-in.

So nobody expected a third choice on the ballot. Least of all, Tricia Manning.

But on Monday, May 14th, 2007, two more names appeared underneath the four known ones. And the names were enough to send the whole school reeling.

* * *

"Did you hear?"

"About the elections?"

"Yes!"

"Can you believe it?"

"I thought they hated each other-"

"I hear they're friends now-"

"I heard Tricia Manning was in the physics lab when she heard and threw a beaker clear across the room!"

"Really? Brett Reynolds was in swim practice when he found out. He actually fell into the pool!"

"I hear someone told _him _between classes and he walked right into a locker!"

"You mean, he didn't know?"

"No! Apparently someone entered them without their knowledge!"

"Oh, why didn't someone enter _me_ with him?"

"He's so gorgeous, isn't he?"

His light green eyes twinkling, a boy allowed himself a broad, self-satisfied smile and whistled quietly as he walked to his next class.

People were talking.

Publicity. _Check_.

* * *

Connie blinked as a textbook was slammed down in front of her. She looked up to see a normally pretty face twisted into a scowl of epic proportions. "Hey, Carmen. Something wrong?" She asked delicately, taking a sip of her water.

"I. Want. Blood." The blonde grit out, her eyes sparking with fury.

"Um…why don't you take a seat and then I'll see what I can do?" Connie suggested diplomatically, putting aside her lunch tray. "Car…_sit_."

"I'm going to _mutilate_ whoever entered me in that election." The other girl vowed, ignoring the stares she was getting from all over the dining hall. "And then I'm going to make them wish they went to _public_ school!"

"Alright, alright, sit down." Portman ordered, using a large hand to push the irate girl into her chair. "Now, take a deep breath and eat your sandwich. Oi, Carmen!"

The sandwich was currently being squished into a pancake by the girl. Guy winced as her hands wrung out the life force of the lunch food. He almost felt bad for it.

"Car…I don't know who entered you into the election but we'll find out. Okay?" Connie said, reaching over to pat her friend's hand reassuringly. "Do you think Dylan knows?"

"I haven't seen him." Carmen growled, finally releasing the unrecognizable sandwich. "Why him? Why did I have to be entered with _him_? Why did I have to be entered period?"

* * *

"Why her? Why did I have to be entered with _her_? Why did I have to be entered period?" Dylan howled, echoing Carmen's exact words.

Jake Riley raised an eyebrow and looked over at him. "How the fuck do I know?"

"I was _this_ close! _This_ close to forgetting about her!" Dylan cried desperately, agitatedly shoving his thumb and index finger underneath his best friend's nose. "And now this? It's as if fate just keeps on bringing us the fuck together!"

The other boy rolled his eyes. "Don't bring fate into this, Dylan. It doesn't exist."

"Then how do you explain my life?" The blond bawled, both hands buried in his hair.

Jake sighed and brought his knee up. Instead of bringing the distraught boy to the crowded dining hall, Jake had opted for the quiet outdoor hallways of the Academic Building. His back resting against a stone pillar, he lounged idly on the matching railing and looked out onto the gardens just below him. "What I don't get is why you don't just drop out?"

Dylan had collapsed against the wall by this point. "Built in safety precaution." He mumbled hollowly, his face buried in his arms. "Anyone nominated has to run. Prevents random people from running on a whim. That was the first thing we implemented when Carmen and I were instated into office two years back."

"So you pretty much fucked yourself over." Jake stated, popping a cookie into his mouth. "It figures."

"Shut up and help me figure out a way to salvage this mess." The blond moaned, half-heartedly taking a bite out of his sandwich.

_Hanging out with the Ducks really must have made him stupid_, Jake mused to himself. Swallowing, he looked at his best friend. "You're not serious, right? I can't believe you can't see this. The answer is so obvious."

Dylan took a swig of water and glared at him. "Enough with the commentary and just tell me."

He leaned forward. "_Throw_ the election."

The blond blinked.

The other leaned back and stared at him smugly.

"But-but," Dylan frowned up at him indignantly. "I've never _lost_ at anything in my entire life!"

Jake groaned.

* * *

"You want me to _lose_?" Carmen demanded, staring at Guy.

"Not lose, per se." He said, giving a slight shrug. "Just don't win."

"It's not a bad idea, Car." Connie nodded thoughtfully. "It has merit."

"Yeah, it's just a surprise that it came from Guy." Portman snickered. "I mean, trying to purposely lose? Blasphemy!"

Guy scowled at him and looked back over at Carmen. "Listen, just talk with Dylan. I saw him heading outside with Jake Riley before lunch. He didn't look too happy either."

Carmen nodded slowly and popped a raspberry into her mouth.

* * *

"We throw the election."

"We throw the election."

Two sets of eyes, one gold, one silver, stared at each other in consternation.

"That's what I just said!"

"That's what I just said!"

"Stop talking when I'm talking!"

"Stop talking when I'm talking!"

Carmen shook her head in irritation and held up a hand to quiet the other. "Do you have any idea who put our names on the ballot?"

"No. If I did, they'd be missing a _head_." Dylan sneered. Carmen couldn't help but agree. "Why, do you?"

She scowled. "No. But I'll find out." She then looked at him sharply. "If I find out who it is, do you think you can handle ruining our chances by yourself?"

The smile he gave her was positively evil. "Oh, I think I can manage." He said sweetly.

* * *

Julie smiled happily as she sat in her new office. This had been one of the reasons why she had wanted the position as Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper. She got her own office.

Okay, it was a tiny office, no bigger than a janitor's closet, really, but what mattered was the tiny plaque outside that spelled out her name in gold leaf. Giddily, she spun around in her chair.

"Having fun?" With a yelp, she jerked to a stop and gazed at Matt Baldwin, the recently stepped down Editor, who was looking at her with amusement. "Don't stop on my account!" He grinned, taking a seat in the chair in front of her.

Although blushing furiously, Julie smiled at him. "It's a nice chair."

"I know." Matt grinned. "I'm not going to lie. I did that myself the first time I stepped in here." He looked around at the room fondly. "Lots of memories, Jules. Lots of memories."

Julie smiled. "Indeed. Congratulations on Northwestern, by the way. I hear it's amazing for journalism."

"Thanks." He said almost bashfully, though his grin threatened to split his face in two. "Congratulations on Dartmouth."

"I'm not in yet."

"Technicalities." Matt said dismissively, waving his hand. "Anyway, I came here for a reason."

"Yeah?"

"The paper runs interviews for the upcoming candidates for the Upperclassmen elections. It's a big thing, you know? Anyway, I want you to cover Manning and Reynolds so I switched you with a freshman. I hope that's alright."

Julie's eyes went wide. "No. No, that's not alright! Oh my god, I asked for Dylan and Carmen for a reason!"

"Jules, I know they're your friends but I don't see what the big deal is. It's just a filmed interview." Matt said, raising an eyebrow. "She's doing it as we speak."

"Oh my god. They will rip her _apart_! She doesn't stand a chance!" The blonde cried, grabbing her bag. "Come on!"

"Where're we going?" The boy demanded as he followed her out of the office.

"The studio!"

* * *

"Ready?"

Carmen turned to look at the blond. "It doesn't really matter, does it? I'm only planning on staying for ten minutes."

"Oh?"

"The orphanage is having a science fair. Nick's project is going to be on display. Anything else you want to know?" She said acidly.

Dylan shrugged elegantly, his slate grey blazer complementing his eyes and the white t-shirt he wore underneath perfectly. "Just making small talk. What happened to your necklace?"

"What?" She asked distractedly, pulling her hair up into a twist.

"Your necklace. The amber one you always wore."

"Oh. I gave it to Nick."

"Really."

"I didn't have anything else to give him." She said shortly.

The boy nodded quietly. He was silent for a minute before speaking again. "He means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

Carmen gave him a searching look before smoothing the front of her black silk shirtdress. "Yes, I suppose he does."

Dylan straightened and his normal, rather mischievous look returned. Giving his hair a shake, he brushed a piece of lint off his sleeve. "So I'm allowed to be as much of an ass as I want out there?"

"That and so much more." She practically purred.

* * *

"The TV! Turn on the TV!"

Maddie blinked as Charlie came hurtling into the room. "Charlie! What's going on?"

"TV!" The boy almost howled as he leapt for the remote.

"Hey!" Goldberg yelped and squirmed away from his friend's attack. "Stop it! Logan's about to find out that Jenna's pregnant with Carter's baby!"

The Captain stopped and stared at him incredulously. "Goldie, what the _fuck_ are you talking about? Who's Jenna?"

"The redhead!" Averman rolled his eyes, pointing at the screen. "The only girl in the scene!"

"You watch soaps?" He asked, his eyes then resting on a quiet Banks who had a baseball cap covering his eyes. "Banksie watches soaps? That explains a lot."

"Banksie's asleep." Maddie informed him quite seriously. "Watch this." Leaning over, she blew hard into his ear. He shot up with a yelp as she snuggled back into Goldberg's ample side smugly.

Charlie blinked before realizing what he had come for. "TV! Dude, turn on the TV!"

"What for?" Averman surrendered, tossing his friend the remote.

"The presidential interviews. It's Carmen and Dylan's turn today." He answered distractedly, flipping through the channels until he got to Eden Hall's.

* * *

"Hold it! Hold it!" Julie gasped, running into the studio with Matt in tow.

The boy in charge turned to look at her. "Sorry, we're on air."

"Dear God." She moaned, staring into the studio. The two of them were seated on a couch with a petite little brunette next to them.

They were trying to throw the election. They would have no problems ruining this girl's interview.

* * *

"This is Tiffany Wallace, reporting live from Studio 3 at Eden Hall. I'm here with Carmen Rivera and Dylan Thomas Howard, two unexpected candidates for the 2007-2008 elections. Carmen, Dylan, welcome."

Carmen gave a slight inclination of her head, obviously bored with the proceedings.

Dylan almost felt sorry for this girl. Oh well. Journalism was a rough field.

He gave her a lopsided grin. "Thanks, babe. You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?" He leered, his eyes raking her figure.

* * *

"Oh. My. God." Charlie breathed, staring at the screen in horror.

Maddie's eyes were wide. "He's hitting on the freshman. _Gross_."

* * *

Blushing furiously, the girl valiantly tried to bring the conversation back to the elections.

"Now, as I understand it, you two had no idea that someone had entered your names. Does that matter at this moment?"

"Yes, it does." Carmen answered, smiling quite cheerfully. "It matters because that someone is going to be in a ridiculous amount of pain very, very soon."

Tiffany gulped. "S-so you're not happy with this situation?"

"Well, well, beauty _and_ brains." Dylan drawled insolently. "Next thing you know, you'll be telling me that you can put your legs behind your head and then there's _no_ telling what I'd do to you."

* * *

Matt Baldwin blinked. "Maybe you were right."

"You think?" Julie bit out dryly as she cradled her head in her hands, trying not to listen to the lewd comments being made.

* * *

Carmen had to give this girl props. She struggled on even through all of Howard's brilliant bullshit.

"So, Carmen…I understand the relationship between you two has been rocky, to say the least. Is there any chance for an amicable partnership in the near future?"

The blonde girl stared at her, a perfect brown eyebrow raised slightly. "I don't understand the question."

* * *

"Car, you're a bitch and a half." Connie murmured admiringly, a laugh bubbling out in spite of herself. The girl had stammered out an explanation of it while Carmen merely looked at her condescendingly.

Connie had a feeling that the freshman would rather have had Dylan answer all the questions than suffer through all of Carmen's cold and short replies.

* * *

"If, by any chance, you win this election, is there anything you'd like to implement in the school system?" The girl asked desperately.

"Yes. Corporal punishment. Goodbye." Carmen said coolly before gathering her purse.

"Wait-the interview's not done-where are you-" Tiffany sputtered, staring at the door which closed behind the older girl.

"She has to go check on her kid." Dylan said carelessly.

"Her kid?"

"Yeah, he's seven."

Tiffany blinked confusedly. "How old is she?"

"Seventeen." He answered calmly, inspecting his nails.

The girl stared at him and then set her jaw. "What about you, Dylan? Is there anything you'd like to implement in the school system if you win the election?"

"You know, I never really thought about it." The blond mused, frowning slightly. "I guess…world peace, push up bras, mud wrestling as a gym option for girls…and chocolate chip pancakes!"

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" Tiffany squeaked, reaching for a glass of water.

Dylan nodded, warming to his subject. "Yeah. Do you realize we never have chocolate chip pancakes? Like what the fuck – oh excuse me – but seriously. I think we've had chocolate chip pancakes _once_ in my three years here at Eden Hall. And let me tell you, they were God awful. But they're better than nothing. Sure, we've had pancakes but chocolate chip? No way! I don't know why. Chocolate chip pancakes are like God's gift to the world. I could get a hard on for that shit. Man, what I would give for some _good_ chocolate chip pancakes."

* * *

"Oh my." Maddie breathed incredulously.

Charlie grasped his hair hysterically. "Dylan, I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Adam grinned and popped a soda can open. "Is it wrong that I'm enjoying this?"

"Nope, not at all." Luis laughed, clapping a horrified Charlie on the back. "What's the matter with you? Why do you even _care_?"

The tall boy ignored him and continued to stare at the screen, vowing all sorts of dire threats for the blond.

* * *

"Well. This has been an _interesting _interview." Tiffany muttered despairingly. Her journalistic reputation was ruined. "But we also ask the questions our viewers want to know."

Dylan raised his eyebrow as she pulled forward a thick stack of papers. "That's all for me?"

The girl nodded dryly. "It appears you're our most popular candidate."

"Huh."

"Anyway…where do you plan on going to college?"

"**S**outh **H**armon **I**nstitute of **T**echnology."

"Um…Do you have any hopes before you graduate Eden Hall?"

"I'm going to screw a girl on Dean Buckley's desk." Dylan offered quite calmly.

She paled slightly and her hands trembled as she reached for the next paper. "Are you really going to Australia to compete for the Goodwill Games this summer?"

"Affirmative."

"Are-are you single?" Tiffany asked reluctantly, crumpling up the sheet vengefully.

A shadow passed extremely briefly over his face before he smiled broadly. "Single, seventeen and loving every second of it."

"I see." She carefully selected another one. "What is your life goal?"

Dylan looked at her slyly for a second before answering.

"Well, I've always wanted to be in a porno."

* * *

Julie dropped her head down on the table with a dead clunk. And again. And again.

Matt didn't bother stopping her as he, too, had collapsed in a chair and was rubbing the bridge of his nose.

At least the interview was over. If you could call that an interview.

* * *

Fulton looked up in shock as one of his best friends slammed into the room. "Charlie? What's going-"

"No!" The Captain yelled. "I talk, you listen!"

"Okay." The bigger boy mumbled. "Talk."

"Thank you." Charlie sneered before pointing an accusing finger at him. "What exactly do you think you're doing? Huh? What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?"

Fulton blinked. "I don't know what you're talking about, Charlie."

"This! And this!" The other boy all but howled, picking up two textbooks and then throwing them to the floor in his rage.

"Hey!" He scrambled to pick them up, cradling them to his chest protectively. "What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into _me_? What's gotten into you?" Charlie screeched, looking positively livid. "Fulton, don't get me wrong, no one of us hate the fact that you like a-a-art but-"

"Art _history._"

"Yes, yes. That. But what we do _hate_ is the fact that you've pretty much cut all of us out of your fucking life!" His voice rose to a crescendo. "I thought we were your buddies, Fulton! I had plans for us! Big plans!"

Fulton gulped nervously and took a step back. Although he was bigger, he knew not to further antagonize Charlie when he got in one of his rants. "Plans?" He managed to squeak out.

"Yes, you idiot! Remember freshmen year? How it was _Hell_?' His friend jabbed a finger into the air. "Come senior year, I vowed, Fult, _vowed_ that this school was going to be ripped apart! And you, _you_ were supposed to be there doing it with me! All of us!"

"Oh."

"Oh is right, you effing bastard!"

The Bash Brother blinked as he remembered the ridicule and general shit that the Ducks had gone through because of the snobby, upper-crust nature of the Eden Hall population. His eyes darkened in memory. "I hated them." He ground out, his grip tightening on his book.

"Yes, I know." Charlie snapped. "That's why I wanted to leave our legacy! I've been planning for _ages_. Then Carmen and Dylan had to go fuck it up! Would you believe that blond freak is still going on about chocolate chip pancakes?"

Fulton smiled suddenly."Yo, that interview was epic."

"Shut up!" The other boy shrieked, stamping his foot down. "It almost ruined me! Ruined!"

"Ruined?" Fulton asked confusedly before his eyes narrowed. "Charlie, did _you_ enter them in the election?"

"Not technically." Charlie answered evasively, before all the fight left him. "Fult, senior year comes along once in a lifetime. Those books aren't going anywhere. They'll be there even if you hang out with us. We're your buddies, Fult, don't leave us behind. I need you, man!"

Guilt squirmed around in the larger boy's insides. Charlie had a point. He had been neglecting the Ducks with his new found obsession. With a sigh, he put the book on his desk. "I won't, Charlie. What do you need me to do?"

His friend beamed at him.

* * *

Adam groaned and sat up. Grabbing his phone, he gazed blearily at the time. 8:17 on a Sunday morning. Who the Hell would be ringing their doorbell at 8:17 on Sunday morning?

Knowing that everyone else in his suite wouldn't even wake up for the fire alarm, Adam sighed and pushed himself out of the bed. Grumbling, he yanked a pair of shorts over his boxers and stumbled out to the entrance, pulling on a T-shirt as he went.

Opening the door, he raised an eyebrow. A pretty girl stared back at him nervously. "Can I help you?" He asked slowly, looking behind her to see another girl clutching a wrapped package in her hands. Oddly enough, another girl was walking down the hallway towards them. What the _Hell_.

"Oh. Um, hi. Does Dylan Howard live here?" She asked breathily, clutching a platter of some sort in her hands.

He nodded, still looking at her suspiciously. "Yeah. Who are you two looking for?" He asked, jerking his head towards the girls behind her.

"Dylan Howard." The two girls said simultaneously before glaring at each other.

"Uh. Hold on, I'll…get…him." Adam muttered, giving them one last distrustful glance. He would have invited them in but the circumstances were extremely suspicious at the moment. The sleep-induced fog was gradually leaving his mind, leaving him extremely aware of the bizarreness of the situation.

He opened the door to Guy and Dylan's room. Adam remembered belatedly that Guy had gone home for the weekend and was coming back later that day. He also remembered with a frown the curvy, nameless brunette he had run into at three in the morning. She had been coming out of Dylan and Guy's room while he had been coming out of the bathroom. They had stared at each other for a second before she had all but run out of the suite with wide eyes.

He stepped over to the mass of grey silk sheets. Maddie had bought him the sheets for Christmas. In Adam's opinion, the silk and satin bedding just encouraged the blond's promiscuous activities. "Dylan."

There was no answer from the lump on the bed.

"Dylan!"

There was a slight twitch from underneath a satin pillow.

"God damn, get up, you little bitch!" Adam demanded crossly, reaching down and flipping the mattress over with a grunt.

A messy blond head appeared from underneath the bedding. Muffled curses were heard as Dylan sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. "What the fuck, Banks?" He growled.

"Late night?" The hockey player asked insincerely, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Late-oh fuck. Sharon." Dylan's vision seemed to clear and he swept his gaze around the room as he wrapped his sheet tighter around his naked body. Finally he seemed to come to a conclusion as he stared up at Adam in indignation. "That bitch took my boxers!"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "She also took your shirt. I ran into her leaving last night."

The other's brows knitted in frustration. "That shirt was from Hugo Boss! God damn." He then reached over to pick up a red, lacy scrap of fabric between his thumb and index finger. "Hey, she left her thong."

"Indeed." Adam said dryly, before he got back to the situation at hand. "Anyway, get up. You have visitors." He tossed back over his shoulders.

"Now?" He asked confusedly, scrambling up after him. "And more than one?"

Adam jerked open the door and felt his jaw drop. "They seem to have multiplied."

Indeed, the three girls he had left at the door had now turned into eleven. All holding a package of some sort, they seemed to have dressed up to come here. Adam didn't need three guesses to figure out who they were waiting for.

"Banksie, what are you-oh." An adorably sleep-rumpled Dylan stopped next to his friend, with just a sheet wrapped around his hips. "I suppose this is what you were talking about…" He mumbled, staring at the assembled girls. Adam smiled sardonically. "You think?"

Dylan ignored him and stepped forward. "Ladies…how can I help you?" If he felt awkward in his state of undress, he sure as hell didn't show it.

"Hi, Dylan! I'm Sarah. I'm in your physics class." The first girl bubbled, blushing as her eyes were level with the silver dog tags that hung on his muscular chest. "Anyway, I heard that you liked chocolate chip pancakes so I took the liberty of making you some-"

"Hey, Dylan. How've you been? You never called me back. But no matter, I made you some chocolate chip pancakes too-"

"Yes, well, _mine_ are made from a secret recipe that has been in the family for generations. I'm Kristy, by the way-"

Woken by the noise, Charlie ambled out to Banks' side. "What the hell is going on?" He grumbled thickly, his eyes growing wide at the sight of crowd of girls. From his height advantage, Adam could see three more girls, all clutching what were probably chocolate chip pancakes, walking towards their suite. "I don't believe this." He breathed, exchanging a look with his best friend.

* * *

"Does anyone have anything to eat?" Goldberg moaned, stumbling into Charlie's living room. "I'm absolutely famished."

"You can have a pancake." Dylan offered solicitously, pointing to the table and couch which were piled high with containers and platters of the food. "You can have _five_ pancakes, if you'd like."

Goldberg's eyes went wide as he saw the mountain of pancakes. "I've just died and gone to heaven."

"Not really. I would hope that Heaven has better tasting pancakes than this." Dylan mumbled through a mouthful. He turned to Adam. "Was that the last one?"

He nodded. "I think so. No good?"

The blond shook his head sadly. "I don't believe this. I just sampled twenty four batches. And not one of them was extraordinary. What the fuck?"

"Your life is so hard." Julie rolled her eyes, jotting a note on her legal pad. "By the way, Tiffany Wallace resigned from the newspaper. Good job, dickweed, she was one of our best freshmen."

He threw her a sheepish smile. "Should I take her out to dinner and apologize?" He asked blandly. Laughing, he then ducked the container of peanut butter Julie proceeded to throw at him. "Kidding! I will apologize to her though. She's a smart girl, she'll understand my reasons."

"Oh, I'm sure." The goalie muttered, pulling her blonde hair into a ponytail.

Guy looked up from his pancakes. "I hear, afterwards, she locked herself in her room and cried for three hours straight."

"And that she couldn't stomach anything for a day, she was so upset." Goldberg swallowed thickly. "Poor thing. Imagine not being able to eat." He shuddered visibly.

"Goldie!" Adam suddenly said, with an odd note of complaint in his voice. He looked at the stack of pancakes in front of the fatter boy meaningfully. "That's totally counteracting my work!"

"Shove off, Banksie, it's Sunday. I follow your diet every other day." Goldberg replied, bringing the plate closer to himself protectively. "I'll just work out double tomorrow."

"You barely finish the workout I give you!" The other said exasperatedly.

Julie noticed that Dylan was quiet. He stared at the coffee table as if lost in thought, a slight frown tugging at his lips.

_Good, _she thought rather vengefully. _He should feel guilty._

* * *

Carmen absently adjusted the heavy, black leather satchel as she hurried down the hallway. God, it seemed heavier than usual…Suddenly, she stumbled as a hand grabbed her and pulled a blindfold over her eyes. "What the fuck?" She yelled as she felt herself being pushed into a room. A cloth was then shoved into her mouth as she continued to scream.

Desperately, she struggled as she was slammed down into a chair and her wrists were rather…gently…tied to the arms of it. Thrashing to the side, she suddenly felt a warm body tied next to her. She froze as the scent of the other person reached her nostrils. Mint.

Oh fuck. _Howard._

"Remove their blindfolds."

The cloth was taken off and Carmen shook her hair out of her eyes, the golden orbs immediately taking in the scene before her. In what looked to be an empty classroom, Charlie Conway stood in front of her, his arms crossed and looking extremely petulant indeed. Howard was tied up and gagged similarly next to her.

Craning her neck behind her, she saw Fulton give her a nervous smile. Her eyes narrowed at him and his smile faltered.

"If we take the gags off, will you promise not to yell and let me talk?" Charlie asked.

Dylan let out a muffled sound and twisted his bound wrists enough to lift his middle fingers up at him. Carmen privately thought that was a rather appropriate response given the situation.

"Dylan!" A new voice scolded. "That's not nice!" Two sets of eyes, one silver, one gold, stared at the newcomer in shock as the smell of vanilla invaded their senses.

Maddie smiled at them cheerfully and reached out to Carmen's face. Quickly, she undid the cloth and slipped it out of her best friend's mouth. "Maddie…what is going on?" The blonde asked dangerously.

"All will be explained if you'd just let me." Charlie answered crossly.

By this time, Maddie had released the gag on Dylan and the soccer player had been spewing curses nonstop. "Dylan…quiet." The dancer murmured absently, giving a little pat to his head.

"You guys really fucked me over." The Captain announced, glaring at the two bound presidential candidates.

"Excuse me?" Dylan sputtered, shaking his hair out of his eyes.

"Shut up." Charlie scowled. "Do you know how much planning went in to get your names on that ballot? I thought of everything! Made sure that every little inch was covered!"

Carmen's eyes narrowed. "Charlie, what the Hell are you talking about? _You _put our names on the ballot?"

"You guys, I have big plans for next year! I have events planned that will leave a mark on _history_! Plans that will finally show those preppy snots their fucking place!"

"What does that have to do with us?" Dylan snapped.

"Everything!" Charlie howled, grasping his hair with his hands. "You guys were supposed to make Upperclassmen Prez and Vice-Prez and take care of all the formalities while I wreaked havoc in the background! Not only that, I needed _you_! You guys are amazing at manipulating people! And then you idiots went and _ruined_ it! You utter and absolute _idiots_!"

"Please, don't stop there. By all means, continue." The blond boy muttered sarcastically.

"And besides…don't even deny that you can do a better job than Reynolds and Manning. If I decided to be all noble and think in the interest of the school – which I don't really feel like doing – I obviously would realize that you two are the best equipped to handle the administration."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Conway." Carmen snarled, still looking angry.

"Thank God people actually seemed to like your interview. Your popularity ratings are twice the other candidates." Charlie said, sighing in relief.

"_What_?" Dylan yelled in disbelief at that shocking statement.

Charlie blinked innocently. "Oh, why, didn't you hear? Manning and Reynolds are absolutely furious about it. Right now, in the student body, you and Carmen are in the lead for the popular vote! Guess people do like comic relief, after all!"

"You incompetent jackass!" Carmen practically screeched, turning to glower at a scandalized Dylan. "I thought you had this under control!"

"I thought I did too!" The blond wailed. "How the hell do I fuck up _fucking_ up?"

"I don't know how _anyone_ can do that! But then again it's _you_!" She snarled, giving a futile jerk of her wrists. "Now, we're in the lead for a position neither of us _want_!"

Charlie smiled to himself. He'd always had a way with words and right now, he was going to lure Carmen right where he wanted her. "I'm surprised, Car. I would have thought the orphanage mattered more to you than this."

Her head shot up. "What are you talking about?"

He looked over at her almost pityingly. "Do you honestly think that Reynolds or Manning give two hoots about that orphanage? It's built, hooray, it's over in their minds. More help isn't going to come from them. If they get elected, Eden Hall's support will be withdrawn quicker than the drop of a hat. And poor Nick will be wondering why his superhero isn't coming." The boy said quietly, knowing the impact of his words.

Carmen's eyes were wide and almost vulnerable as she took in what the other was saying. He was right. She hadn't even thought about this. The orphanage wasn't high on the list of their competitors. Actually, the orphanage wasn't even _listed_ on their campaign outlines. Next year, the orphanage would be forgotten once again.

And _Nick_…Carmen closed her eyes as she struggled to fight down the panic and nausea that was enveloping her.

Charlie resisted the urge to crow with delight. Hook, line and sinker!

"So those are the reasons you put our names on the ballot?" She croaked out, staring at the floor.

"Technically, I didn't put your names on the ballot. I can't. I'm not on the Student Council." He conceded, before pointing to Maddie. "She did. I just implanted the notion in her head."

The blonde whipped her head around to look at the girl who was sitting quite comfortably in a chair nearby. "You?"

"Maggot, why?" Dylan snapped, looking as if he had a splitting headache.

"Because I don't like Tricia Manning." The girl answered cheerfully.

Carmen resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Neither do I but-"

"If that bitch made president, I don't know what I'd do. She'd probably kick me out of my job just because she felt like it. Granted, I could wheedle myself back in because Reynolds is the biggest pushover _ever_ but that's not the point now, is it? And not only that, she's friends with Emily Parker. That alone speaks for itself."

Dylan pursed his lips. "True." He conceded before shaking his head indignantly. "Well, it doesn't matter! I'm not running! And neither is Rivera!" He then slanted her a glance. "Right?"

The Hispanic girl closed her eyes despairingly. "Shut up, Howard."

"Fine! _I'm_ not running! It's going to fucking take over my life and let me remind you that it's senior year for me too!" The blond declared obstinately, his jaw jutting out.

Charlie nodded agreeably. "You do know that the president and vice president get their own office, their own secretary, and a master key to the entire school? Including Dean Buckley's personal office?"

Dylan blinked.

"Yeah. Actually…they get access to _everything_ the school has to offer. Files, the computer mainframe, student records. Everything." The captain said cheerfully, leaning over and untying the two's bonds. "Perfect for any kind of information you want."

He straightened, beckoning over to Maddie and Fulton. "I think you guys have a lot to talk about so we'll leave you two alone. I hope you make smart decisions." He then paused, his voice dropping to his usual tone. "Listen, guys, we're sorry we put you in without your permission but…"

Maddie spoke up, smiling softly at them. "No one can do the job like you. And I think deep down inside, you guys know it too."

Dylan rubbed his wrists absently as the door clicked shut behind them. He let out a sigh. "I think we do need to talk."

Carmen nodded slowly, her eyes preoccupied. "Yes. Yes, we do. Is lunch over?"

"We have ten minutes…" The boy said as he checked his phone. "Unless you want to skip the rest of the day and go get real food. I kind of _need_ real food after that."

"Well, I'm not really in the mood for classes right now anyway." The blonde murmured, as she stood up. "Paolo's?" She asked, lifting her heavy bag onto her shoulder.

After a moment's hesitation, Dylan reached over and took the bag. Ignoring her protest, he nodded. "Sure. I'll drive."

"No." Carmen stated flatly. "_I'll_ drive."

"What? Why?" He demanded.

"Because you're an _awful _driver."

The blond shrugged his shoulders elegantly. "I suppose you have a point." He acquiesced blandly. "We really need to talk about that Tiffany girl too."

* * *

Tiffany Wallace frowned as someone knocked on her door. She looked over at her roommate, who sat up in interest. No one ever knocked; they usually just barged right in. Getting up, she opened the door.

"Hey, Tiffany."

She gaped in shock as Carmen Rivera and Dylan Howard stood in the doorway of her dorm room. The two exceedingly good looking people stuck out like a sore thumb in her dingy freshmen hallway. Indeed, they looked almost _shiny_ compared with the dullness of the faded wallpaper.

The soccer player held out a large bouquet of yellow freesias to her. "These are for you. I hope you're not allergic." Shaking her head, she took them with trembling hands and stared at the two juniors.

They were dressed in the same clothes as the day of the interview and both of them were smiling at her sincerely. Carmen spoke first. "We treated you rather badly that day. It was for extremely petty and inconsequential reasons of our own and we came to apologize. It was rude and juvenile of us to take out our own frustrations upon you. You were nothing except gracious and we treated you wrongly. We're so sorry."

Dylan's statements weren't nearly as pretty or eloquent. "Yeah, what she said. Um, listen, I know I came off as a complete sketchball and I'm not really…usually…but anyway, yeah, we were trying to throw the election and we used you. We're really, really sorry. I would totally take you out to dinner to apologize but then Jules would have my head – oh yeah, Julie would really appreciate if you came back and wrote for the newspaper. She says you're one of her most promising journalists."

"Really?" Tiffany asked, brightening up at the compliment.

"Yes, she did." Carmen said, giving her a warm smile. The younger girl inwardly marveled at how electrifying the change on her usually dispassionate face was. "And if it's okay with you…we'd like to redo the interview. At your discretion."

Dylan nodded cheerily. "Yeah. We're actually running for real now. I know, I was surprised too." He added dryly. "So what do you say?"

Tiffany smiled at them and slowly nodded. "T-that would be wonderful. When's good for you?"

"How about now?" Carmen offered.

"Now? O-oh. Well, no time like the present, right?" The young journalist beamed, opening the door to her room. "Let me get my notebook and we can head on over to the studio."

"Peachy." Dylan then waved to her gaping roommate. "Hi, I'm Dylan. By the way, do you girls want some chocolate chip pancakes? I brought a couple…" Carmen coughed into her hand. "dozen." He finished lamely.

* * *

"This is an outrage! It's totally undermining the student government's authority and reputation!" Tricia Manning shrieked, slamming her folder down on the huge walnut table.

Maddie sniffed in disapproval. "Someone seems a little unhinged." She said snootily as the people around her chuckled.

"Quiet!" Dean Buckley ordered, taking a sip of his own coffee. "Everyone calm down and take a seat."

"Dean," Tricia stated, her ears as red as her hair. "This election is turning into a circus. As I said before, sir, you need to put an end to this!"

Dean Buckley nodded his head and pushed his glasses up. Never before in his twenty-two years of teaching, had he encountered a student election as frustrating as this. The two candidates that were in the lead for the presidency were two of the biggest troublemakers that he had ever had the misfortune to meet.

Hence, Tricia Manning had unearthed some obscure passage in the Eden Hall Code that said if the existing Student Council wanted an unfit leading party to be disqualified, they were able to do so after a vote.

"Sir, I assure you that we hold every inclination to seriously run in this election." Carmen Rivera said coolly, crossing her hands on the table.

"Really? How do you explain that interview? That was a joke!" The redhead shot back.

"We redid it!" Dylan protested.

Brett Reynolds scowled at him. "That doesn't even count!"

"What do you know?" The blond sneered.

"You two think this is a big game! Well, some of us are serious about it!" The swimmer growled.

"We just said we're serious about it!"

"You don't know what serious means, Howard!"

"Go back to California, you veggie loving, hippie freak! No offense, Maddie."

"None taken."

"Better than a Midwest country bumpkin!"

"Newsflash, Reynolds! I'm originally from _Boston_!"

Carmen pursed her lips at the slight, Boston twang that did appear in his speech when he got agitated.

"The Red Sox suck!"

Maddie nodded her head vigorously. "I agree!" She was a Yankees fan til she died.

"You sit tight and shut up!" Dylan snarled, glaring at his best friend.

"Enough!" Dean Buckley thundered. He looked out among the assembled gathering patiently. "Miss Rivera, I don't think you'll argue with me that I'm right in being doubtful of you and Mr. Howard's commitment to this position. I must say, I'm inclined to agree with Miss Manning on this issue."

She breathed deeply. "Sir, I admit, this was an unexpected development on our part as well. And yes, we weren't serious about this election…at the start. However, both of us have come to realize that it does, in fact, matter to us and that we intend on following through with this to the best of our ability."

She then turned to address the rest of the Student Council. "All of you have worked with me at some point during your time here. Me nor my running mate is trying to demean the establishment. I've personally worked too hard to make this Council what it is today. Please believe me." She pleaded softly. She wasn't too proud to beg for Nick.

"Bullshit." Tricia's nostrils flared. "This is just another way for you to get in control of the school again. Dean Buckley, I demand that there be action taken!"

"Very well then." The Dean murmured, throwing an apologetic glance to Carmen and Dylan. "All those in favor of letting Miss Rivera and Mr. Howard run in the election?"

Seven people raised their hands.

"Those against?"

Seven people raised their hands.

Dean Buckley raised an eyebrow and looked at his current Upperclassmen President. "Mr. Landon. I believe you will be the tie-breaker."

The blond haired boy looked up from where he had been sitting quietly the whole meeting. Carmen thought he looked rather tired and ill. He turned to look at the Dean. "I beg your pardon, sir?"

"Your vote will shift the tide, young man."

Dylan buried his head in his hands. There was no hope. Landon hated them.

Josh looked around at the Student Council and barely acknowledged Tricia's steely gaze. Instead, they locked on a pair of golden eyes. He stared at her, as months of tension passed between them. Carmen then dropped her gaze and stared at her trembling hands in defeat.

He set his jaw and turned to the Dean. "Sir, as much as I don't want to say this…this school reached a new height of efficiency under Howard and Rivera. I'm afraid I am in…favor of letting them run."

Carmen's head shot up and she stared at him, her eyes glistening with an unknown emotion. "Thank you." She mouthed to him. He nodded to her once. Just once.

But she understood.

* * *

Three days later, Carmen Rivera and Dylan Howard were announced to be the new President and Vice-President of the Upperclassmen of 2007-2008.

Charlie Conway walked around, grinning like a Cheshire cat, for the rest of the week.

Tricia Manning was noticeably absent as she had locked herself in her room.

* * *

"Looks like trouble in paradise." Ken whistled, jerking his head to the left.

Slamming her locker shut, Carmen looked over to where he had indicated.

Emily Parker and Josh Landon were in the midst of having a full-on argument in the middle of the hallway. So busy shouting at each other, they neglected to see the crowd that had formed. Needless to say, people loved a scene.

"You're overreacting!"

Emily tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder angrily. "I am not! Nice to know where you really stand in our relationship!"

"Em, I hate to say it but they're a lot more competent than Tricia or Reynolds! They're a better choice for this school!"

"Whatever!" Emily cried before glaring at him. "You know, forget this. I'm so sick of you! We're done."

Josh grabbed her arm angrily. "What do you mean we're done?"

She sneered up at him. "I mean we're done! Looks like you've lost yourself a girlfriend _and_ a prom date! Oh wait…." She paused and cocked her head innocently. "Prom's this Saturday, isn't it? Boo. Well, I hear Caitlin still doesn't have a date. Maybe you could go with her." Emily jerked her head towards a rather overweight, pimply girl who immediately reddened with embarrassment.

"You can't do this." Josh muttered quietly, aware of the public setting they were in.

"I just did. Have a nice life, Landon." Emily said mockingly as she turned on her heel and walked away.

"He must feel terrible." Carmen and Ken turned to see Adam staring at the president with compassionate eyes. "God only knows I did. I'll see you guys later." And with one last look of pity towards his fellow ex, Adam walked away.

"That girl really is a bitch and a half." Ken muttered. "She's just ruined his _prom_. That's just low, man. That's just low."

Carmen nodded as she saw the blond boy stalk through the crowd, his head held high nonetheless. "Yes, it is."

* * *

Guy stared at his roommate. "Dude…"

"Guy, this sucks!" Dylan whined. "I've been so _good_. I agreed to be in that stupid election! I've done all my homework! I pulled off straight As! My SATs scores are near perfect! I haven't gotten a girl pregnant! I've got a kick like Ronaldinho and yet I haven't had any chocolate chip pancakes worth eating!"

"Why don't you just make your own then?" His roommate asked, putting his feet up on the coffee table. He immediately dropped them when he saw Julie's warning look. The girls were extremely adamant when it came to their furniture.

The soccer player just moaned into his hands. Maddie patted him comfortingly before turning to Guy. "Dylan doesn't do cooking. Like really. He can't even do macaroni and cheese. Come to think of it…he could probably burn water." She said thoughtfully.

"I just don't get it. We have two hundred fifty kids in each grade. That means we have a thousand kids in our school! Someone is bound to be able to make chocolate chip pancakes! Good ones!" Dylan complained grumpily. "I've been working harder than a whore during prime time here and it was all everybody else's bitch work. I'm just asking for a chocolate chip pancake! An unbelievable, chocolate-y, mouth watering, bit of fluffy goodness!"

"Jesus Christ!" Connie suddenly stalked out of her bedroom, her white sundress swirling around her bare legs. "Honestly, Dylan, do you even _realize_ how spoiled you are?" She snapped, pulling on a pair of flats.

He blinked at her before nodding affirmatively. "Yeah. I do."

Pulling on a cardigan, she rolled her eyes and grabbed her car keys. "Why do I even bother? Come on. Get up."

"Where're we going?" The blond asked plaintively as Maddie gave him a slight push in the petite girl's direction.

"Just shut up and move." Connie's eyes flashed as she held the door open for him. Obediently, he followed her out.

* * *

"So what kind of plans are these exactly?" Russ asked suspiciously.

"Just a little bit of this and that." Charlie answered evasively. "Hit me."

"And Charlie busts with twenty-two." Ken answered, flipping the card over.

"This is a stupid game. Why couldn't we play poker?" The Captain scowled.

"Because blackjack is so much more interesting." Goldberg said, shuffling all the cards in.

Just then, Carmen created a small diversion by coming out of her room in a scandalously cut dress of teal green satin. She fumbled through her clutch, completely oblivious to the confused looks she was receiving from her boys.

Ken raised an eyebrow at the low cut dress. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Hmmm?" She finally looked up. "Oh. Prom."

"Prom." Russ repeated slowly, feeling as if he had misheard. Prom and Carmen Rivera did not go together in the same sentence.

"Mmhmm." She nodded, giving them a brilliant smile. "Good night, gentlemen."

The boys stared at her in shock as she sailed out the door, only leaving the slight scent of her perfume behind.

* * *

"Well, I've found a way to shut him up." Connie muttered into her phone as she expertly flipped another pancake. She then turned to look over at her house's dining table where a messy haired blond was currently devouring his second plate of chocolate chip pancakes.

"I figure I'll give him a few more rounds and then bring him back to the dorms." Connie smiled, wiping her hands on her apron. "Alright, Aves. Love you too. Bye." She clicked her phone off as her father walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Dad."

Her father smiled at her before gesturing to the soccer player. "That boy has a one track mind, doesn't he?"

"He just really likes chocolate chip pancakes."

"Well, your flapjacks are amazing." He chuckled, rinsing his coffee mug.

"Thanks." She said, flipping another one. "Do you want any, Dad?"

"No, I'm good, sweetheart. I think I'm going to bed." Her father bent to give her a kiss. "Come visit more often, bumblebee. It's only a ten minute drive."

She gave him a sad smile, her heart giving a painful thud at her childhood nickname. "I would if the house wasn't empty every time I came."

Chris Moreau sighed, staring at his only daughter. She looked more and more like her mother by the day. "Bumblebee…"

"It's getting late, dad and I know you have an early meeting tomorrow. I'll try to come for Sunday dinner." She hastily said, sliding a new pancake onto a stack.

Her father bit his lip. "Actually, I'm going to be in Montreal. I have a business-"

"Don't worry about it." Connie interrupted, smiling brightly. "Give me a call when you're back." She reached up to give him a kiss on his cheek.

The man nodded quietly. "I will. Good night."

"Good night." She smiled at him, even though she felt as if her heart was breaking in a million pieces. Taking a deep breath, she picked up another plate of pancakes and brought them to the dining room table.

Dylan's eyes lit up as he saw her come in. "Connie. You probably make the best pancakes known to mankind." He marveled as she set down the plate in front of him. Happily, he speared another forkful. "You're totally my favorite person in the whole wide world, Cons." He mumbled through a mouthful.

She laughed and ruffled his hair fondly. He was in such high spirits of chocolate-y wonder, that he let her. As long as she kept the pancakes coming, she could do whatever she wanted.

* * *

"Hold on, I'm coming!" Josh Landon scowled, as he jerked open the door. "What the fuck do you – Rivera?"

"Landon." The blonde nodded at him, raising an eyebrow at him critically. "Why aren't you dressed?"

He stared at her, his mouth hanging open as he took in her tight dress of teal green satin. While the bottom covered her legs to her kneecaps, it hugged every curve on the way down. And as for the top…well, she was fairly bursting out of it. "Wha-what are you doing?"

"I'm your prom date, Landon." She answered calmly, tucking a golden strand of hair behind her pearl studded ear. They appeared to be a match to the thick braid of pearls around her neck.

The immature and petty part of him sprang forward. "I don't need your pity."

"It's not pity, Landon. It's appearances. It wouldn't do for the class president to show up at his own prom without a date. And it definitely wouldn't do if the class president didn't show up at his prom at all." She smiled at him kindly. "Now go on. Get dressed."

Josh stared at her before he felt the corner of his lip tilt upward.

* * *

Maddie sighed and finished taping one box shut. She pushed it over to the other boxes that were to be taken into Connie's garage for storage and turned to survey the rest of her belongings. She was officially done with her junior year as she had taken her last exam that afternoon.

Because the Pavlova program was so intensive, it ran starting from the beginning of June. Which meant that Maddie's school year was to be cut short a week or so early.

She was leaving on Monday morning for New York, where she'd barely have four days to stay with her family before climbing on a plane to St. Petersburg, Russia. Never mind the fact that she didn't speak a word of Russian or the fact that she didn't know a soul in the huge country. At least she could dance her feet off.

Maddie took a deep breath as she started to pack another box. Well, one must make sacrifices, right? She halfheartedly reached for a textbook when someone else picked it up and handed it to her.

Adam's kind blue eyes glimmered down at her. "Need some help?"

"Yeah. That'd be great." She smiled at him, taking the offered textbook.

Quietly, the two began to box up her things, knowing that they were closing yet another chapter in her life.

* * *

"What I don't get is how you've managed to never have a boyfriend through all this time."

Carmen shrugged. "It wasn't important."

"But you're sixteen…seventeen? You're seventeen and you've never had a relationship with a guy."

The girl sighed irritably. "Yes, Landon. We've established that."

Josh shook his head. "My god. Next thing you know you'll be telling me you've never kissed one as well…" He then turned to look at her. She stared at him confusedly. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Well, you never know where that mouth has been." Carmen stated defensively. "And I'll get around to it one of these days. I just haven't had the time so far. I'm a busy person." She continued up the steps to her dorm huffily.

The boy followed her, holding up his hands in disbelief. "What were you doing that took up so much of your time?"

She turned to glare at him. "You know…getting criminals posing as teachers arrested, rescuing dogs from the pound, finding replacement hockey coaches in the middle of the season, saving orphans, trying not to fail Health Education, that sort of thing."

"Okay, okay. I get it." Josh blinked and opened the door for her. The two continued to talk as he walked her back to her suite. Who would've thought he'd actually have a good time with Rivera of all people? Who would've thought he'd actually _go_ to prom with Rivera?

He had to hand it to her. She was a genuinely good person. She stuck by his side throughout the event, smiling graciously to people and being the smooth, collected person she was. Even when they ran into Emily – he couldn't believe the nerve of her to come to _his _prom with another guy – Carmen merely raised an eyebrow and walked away.

Not only that but she was bloody _gorgeous_. Jaws had dropped when he had walked in with her in all her stunning glory, on his arm. Josh shook his head.

He really did owe her. For saving his reputation more than anything else.

She stopped in front of her door. "Well…surprisingly, I had a good time." She said wryly.

"Thanks. Me too." Josh smiled at her. "Really…thank you. For tonight. You didn't have to come." He held out his hand.

She reached out and shook it. "I think I did." She then smiled at him kindly. "Good luck, Landon. Emory's gaining a good man."

"Thanks. I'll see you around." With a wink, the boy turned to leave.

Carmen allowed herself a small smile before opening her clutch to retrieve her key. Before she was able to do so, however, she was stopped by a warm hand on her arm. Turning around, she saw Josh staring at her hesitantly.

"I-oh hell." He then slowly leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. Pulling back after a few seconds, he smiled at her. "Good luck, Carmen."

She just stared at him as he disappeared through the staircase, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

The door opened and Charlie leaned against the door frame as he munched on an apple. "Want me to go beat him up? I will if you want me to." He asked thickly through a mouthful.

Dazedly, Carmen turned to look at him. She then smiled at him fondly. "No. It's okay. He took care of something for me."

Charlie swallowed and shrugged, his eyes clearly showing his distrust of the boy. "If you say so. Come on. It's been a long night."

Still smiling, Carmen allowed him to wrap an arm around her bare shoulders and lead her into her noisy suite, where most of the floor seemed to have gathered.

* * *

Julie turned at the sound of a honk and smiled. "Hey, you."

Dylan grinned at her, his aviators reflecting the sunlight. "You leaving?"

She nodded, shading her eyes from the sun. "Banks is driving me and Luis to the airport. They're bringing the rest of my stuff down. What about you? You're going home?" She asked, nodding her head towards all the boxes that filled the BMW.

"Yeah, just finished my last final an hour ago. Mom wants me home, she's making dinner."

"I feel you." The goalie laughed. "I'll miss you."

He snorted. "Don't get all sentimental on me, Jules. I'll be seeing you in a month."

She scowled at him before her eyes widened. "Hold on a sec." Rushing over to Adam's Range Rover, she fumbled through one of her suitcases before pulling out something. She walked back to Dylan and handed it to him. "Here. I want you to have this."

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"It's a journal." Julie rolled her eyes as the boy continued to stare at the mahogany leather book in consternation. "I think it'll be good for you. You keep too many feelings inside. Write them down. It'll clear your mind. It may even improve your game."

"My game doesn't need improving." He protested. "Especially not with your Zen bullshit."

"Hush." The goalie grinned nonetheless. "Just do it. For me."

"Whatever, Jules. Anyhow, thanks." The blond tossed the journal into a box and turned to look at her. "Now come here and give me a kiss." Laughing, Julie bent to do that.

She straightened and stepped back. "I expect a drunk dial in the near future. Preferably with all my Minnesota boys together."

Dylan shot her a heart stopping grin. "Of course, Jules. You wouldn't get anything less. After all, that's the way we roll."

* * *

AHHHHHH! FINALE!

This is 81 pages of pure madness.

**The Way We Roll** is done but never fear, my dears!

A one-shot, maybe two-shot is coming up. I'm planning it to be Dylan's diary as he and the Ducks participate in the Goodwill Games.

Then be on the lookout for **Their Legacy** which is going to be their senior year.

Put me on Author Alert if you don't want to miss anything!

Thank you, guys, so much for sticking with me! I hope you continue to read and review!

Oh and have a great _HOLIDAY SEASON_! May peace be with you all!

* * *

**Alcoholz**: Hahaha, your name made me giggle. What can I say, I'm a college student, I think everything is about alcohol. Thanks for reading and reviewing, sweets!

l**kwREADer:** Adam is a sexy beast, we all know, haha. Don't worry, I promise to continue to write my epic saga until the finish. You're totally going to kill me for this but I'm not going to lie…as appealing as a topless Adam is, I'm more attracted to the idea of Jake Riley. Tall, dark and handsome…and a complete asshole. I'm such a girl. Thanks for the review, my dear!

**Megan:** Oh, thanks, sweetie. Don't worry…Portman/Julie isn't resolved for now…but it will be very shortly. I promise! Thanks for the review!

**Jas120**: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you love it!

**Cat:** Aww. I'm your first shout out? Okay, that was kind of a "that's what she said" moment but anyway! Thank you so much for reviewing!

**Sphinx005**: Ahhh! It's not even freezing here in the States! It doesn't feel like the Christmas season because of that. But anyway, your reviews always make me happy cause they're so nice and fat and bursting with juicy goodness. Hahaha love you, girlie!

**Joanna**: Who doesn't love a fussy Adam? And outrageous Dylan is enough to make anyone's heart melt. Thanks for the review, sweetums!

**Jess**: Seriously, I just can't write unless I sit down and do it! Haha, this was actually two days of me skiving off work and papers. The muse had invaded my brain and wouldn't let me concentrate on women's rights until I had finished this! Thank you so much for the review, darling!

**Truth-behind-your-lies:** No, I don't watch One Tree Hill but I think I saw the trailer for that episode…which is probably why it subconsciously got stuck in my mind. But anyway, thank you so much for the review!

**Lyndal**: Looks like Sydney's going to be a bona fide party. As for shopping…I have a feeling that Dylan's going to be doing a lot of that. Haha, thanks for the review, hun!

**LoudandQuiet**: Stealing sweaters from the guys is always good. They should expect it, you know? Well…Carmen and Dylan are now on speaking terms at least. And Maddie and Adam? Senior year will bring lots of dramaaaaaa. Wink. Thanks for the review, sweets.

**Spunky-hyper-girl**: Oh thanks so much for your praise! I'm actually really proud of creating Nick. He's a cutie, for real. And Carmen and Dylan seem to be coexisting, don't they? Who knows….thanks for your review!

**Taryn Sparrow**: Dwayne and Allie are kind of busy at the moment…but I put in a scene just for you! I'm not going to lie, it's getting harder and harder to juggle all my plotlines! But at least most of my characters only make an appearance for one or two updates and are gone by the next! Thanks for the review, sweets!

**Flyinghawk**: The fact that you have just compared me to Punkteacher has just set my heart all aflutter. Thank you so much for your praise. I've been really worried about the personalities of my OCs and have tried to make them as real as possible. Thanks so much!

**The Crane of Fire**: Did someone ask for some Kenny expansion? There you go. Thank you so much for your review and I hope I was able to satisfy your request!

**GT Spuddie**: Hey, you! Thanks for taking those three hours to read my story…it's people like you who make my world go round. I know I've been awful about posting but I've been swamped with schoolwork. If it's any consolation, I totally ditched my weekend plans to write this, only pausing to eat, sleep and go to the bathroom. Okay, you probably didn't need to know that but anyway, thank you so much for your review!

**IaMaSlYtHeRiN**: Oh thanks, sugar plum! I hope that bit of Adam/Emily resolution was okay for you!

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